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THE 

CELESTIAL COMFORTER; 

OR, A COLLECTION OF 

The most Precious and Consolatory 

SCRIPTURE PROMISES, 

INTRODUCED IN 
CONCISE BUT COMPREHENSIVE SECTIONS; 

For the comfort and support of Believers, in tribulation and tempt- 
ation ; and particularly to alleviate their pains in sickness, 
and to illuminate the " valley aiui shadow of death" with 
the golden light of eternity. 

FIFTH EDITION, WITH AMOTIONS. 
^^J TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

A GUMP.SE 

, OF THE w 

LAST CHURCH OF CHRIST IN TH& WORLD, 

AND THE 

PERSECUTION OF THAT CHRUCH, 

Prior to the commencement of the Millenium* 

Being an apology for the religious sentiments of thp 

Author. 

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PHILADELPHIA: 

PUBLISHED BY ENOCH JOHNSON. 

1814k 






The Library 
of Conor ess 



WASHINGTON 



PREFACE. 



THE present collection of Scripture Promises, is a 
most appropriate supplement to the " Rights of 
God," and the best vindication of the impartiality of 
the great Jehovah. The numerous instances wherein 
they have been fulfilled, has a tendency to remove the 
doubts of the philosophical unbeliever ; and their ap- 
plication to the true believer's heart, is a reviving 
cordial, while travelling through this miserable 
world ; they are in short, his choicest riches and high- 
est hopes, this side heaven. To those who know the 
benefit of a suitable promise in the hour and power of 
darkness and temptation, this collection will be a ce- 
lestial treasure ; and will be a most pleasurable and 
profitable companion for the merchant in his counting- 
house, the lady in her parlour, or the sick man in his 
chamber ; where, with a glance of an eye, they may 
derive heavenly refreshment, and may participate 
the joy of angels. By neglecting the promises of God, 
many a sincere Christian has been filled with solicitude 
and anxiety, both about the concerns of this life, and 
the apprehensions of death ; and thus have been, by 
their own inattention, deprived of the best comforts of 
religion through life, and at the hour of death. «The 
gracious promises of God were given for our comfort 
and support, in the hour of trouble and temptation. 
Why should we then, rob our souls of promises so sweet, 
so pleasant, so precious ? and which " should be written 
on the table of our hearts !*' Many serious people, 
while on their sick and dying beds, are deprived of the 
most divine consolation, for want of reading or having 
the promises of God applicable to their condition, read 
to them, by some social and sympathetic friend. The 



reason is obvious : viz. A? most people are not Scrip- 
tarians, they might search the Bible for an hour before 
they would find one appropriate promise. Hence, out 
of one hundred who depart this life, scarcely one has 
the consolatory promises of God applied to his discon- 
solate mind, at the awful hour of death ; although cal- 
culated to be a balm for every wound, a cordial for every 
fear. I do therefore from the purest motives, most 
fcumblv entreat thee O reader f - who may be the owner 
of thi book, and was I in thy presence, I would on my 
bended knees implore the same favour, namely ; that 
yot would be so kind as to read the following pro- 
mises of «• support in death and happiness after 
death," to any of your relatives, friends, or acquaint- 
ances, or even neighbours who may be on the bor- 
ders of eternity. This act of kindness may be the 
source oi supreme happiness to yoursehf as well as 
them. And I wouid also most humbly entreat the 
respectable members of that excellent and benevolent 
institution, called '• The Philadelphia Society for al- 
leviating the miseries of indigent sick persons," to 
grant n*e, or rather to grant the indigent sick under 
their compassionate notice, and whom they periodical--' 
ly visit and relieve, the same favour, 



DIRECTIONS 

To ascertain and experience the sterling value 
of the subsequent Precious Promises. 



IT would be as great an absurdity for me to direct 
the reader to A. Clarke, who is the greatest commen- 
tator in the world, or S. Clari-.e, who was perhaps the 
greatest Scriptarian, (and with whose assistance I 
have compiled the Scripture promises) for directions 
to know their value, as it would be for me to direct a 
traveller who found a wedge of gold, to a plowman, 
to ascertain its intrinsic worth: yet this is the con- 
duct of many divines, who too often direct their 
hearers and readers to the commentaries of man, in- 
stead of the spirit of God, for direction in contro- 
verted points of doctrine. Alas ! how many millions of 
people are continually listening to the oratorial voices 
of men, entitled parsons, bishops, archbishops, cardi- 
nals, and the pope, in superb churches, and pulpits 
fringed with flowers of gold, while ihe voice of the 
true shepherd in their hearts (which only can lead to 
true happiness here and hereafter) is heard with to- 
tal disregard. Truly in the present age, gross dark- 
ness rests upon the minds of the people, and tradition 
is substituted in the room of truth. Wherefore, dear 
reader, if you wish to know the true value of this 
cabinet of celestial Jewels, I would earnestly recom- 
mend you to the Spirit of truth, which will give you 
to feel, as well as see their infinite value. Take your 
eyes and thoughts from men who •' preach for pay, 
and divine for money " although their names may be 
embellished with the pompous and pedantic words, 
Rev, Right Rev. or Most Rev. or the letters D, U, 



L. L. Y>. or A. M. and look to the meek and lowly- 
Jesus with simplicity and godly sincerity, and he will 
by his spirit give you to see the gulf of delusion into 
which almost the whole Christian world is fallen. 

Each of the following sections is a bundle of notes 
on the Bank of Heaven. Whenever you are in dis- 
tress or straits, take one. and go to bank and present 
it, nothing doubting, and the President will not deny 
his hand writing, nor the Cashier refuse you the hea- 
venly coin. Come and be determined not to leave 
the bank till you get the money ; for this confidence 
will please both the President and Cashier, alias, the 
" Son and Spirit." But remember when you receive 
the heavenly coin, (grace) you must not spend it in 
idleness, vanity, or sensuality, but husband it well, 
or you will be severely reprimanded when you call to 
bank again, and perhaps sent away empty and in dis- 
grace- But above all things, doubt not for a moment 
the currency of these bank notes; for when you 
doubt, you obliterate the President's signature. Leave 
controverted divinity, like a bundle of court calen- 
ders, to ecclesiastical doctors and lawyers ; but for 
your part, choose this better part, the divine Spirit, 
which will be a touchstone to discriminate between 
this heavenly treasure and the counterfeit coin with 
which Christendom is unfortunately filled. The pre- 
sent compilation of scripture promises is different 
from any thing of the kind (to my knowledge) ever 
before published ; and that it may be a blessing to 
many readers, in this, and future generations, is the 
earnest prayer of your humble servant for Christ's 
sake. 

THOMAS BRANAGAN. 



PRELIMINARY ADDRESS. 



IT appears necessary briefly to shew, 
the great blessedness of the following 
promises of Scripture, and to whom 
they are most calculated to be render- 
ed beneficial. The cry of thousands of 
Christians is, "What good thing shall 
I do to inherit eternal life." To such 
the subsequent promises will appear 
of little value. Butto the poor, humble, 
heart-broken penitent, whose language 
is, "Lord be merciful to me a sinner," 
they will be a holy, sacred treasure in 
life ; and particularly so at the hour of 
death. As I feel the most cogent < e- 
sire to be useful to such poor sinners, 
especially in their dying moments, I 
would entreat such to believe in the 
blessed Jesus, with an humble, loving, 
grateful heart: then " their faith will 
be counted for righteousness." Should 
Satan then accuse, only point to Je. 
bus, w ho bore your sins upon the tree. 
Should he say, " no unclean thing can 



8 



enter heaven ;" the answer is ready *: 
" The blood of Christ eleanseth from 
all iniquity." But where is your wed- 
ding garment ? I answer, the perfect 
righteousness of Christ, in whom I 
have believed : as my sins were imput- 
ed to him, most assuredly his righte- 
ousness is imputed to all who sincerely 
believe in his name. "He was made 
sin for us, who knew no sin, that we 
might be made the righteousness of 
God in him." But Oh ! this is a hate- 
ful doctrine to thepharisee, who wishes 
to purchase heaven by his sincere obe- 
dience ; and cannot bear the idea of re- 
ceiving it without money and without 
price, as a beggar receives an alms. If 
antinomianism has slain its thousauds, 
phariseeism has slain its tens of thou- 
sands : because the first appears mostly 
in its native deformity ; but the last ap- 
pears as an angel of light, and deceives 
and impregnates with pride and vain 
glory, thousands who once ran well ; 
and thieves and harlots will enter hea- 
ven before .such : and I am sorry to 
have it to say, that our elegant churches 



are crouded with such. The Lord 
will most assuredly exalt the humble, 
believing penitent, and bring the proud 
pharisee full low. O then let me ex- 
hort you, who hate sin because God 
hates it, who daily abhor yourselves, 
and repent as in dust and ashes ; who 
have no confidence in the flesh, but 
place your whole hope and trust in 
the lord our righteousness ! Read, 
or get read to your comfort, the subse- 
quent precious promises, not of false 
man, but of the true and faithful God. 
They will be to you, no doubt, like ap- 
ples of gold, in pictures of silver. They 
will make your death-beds, beds of 
roses, and your graves the gates of pa- 
radise. I would also recommend to 
your serious consideration, my "Plea- 
sures of Death, contrasted with the mi- 
series of Human Life ;" as also my 
"Heavenly Antidote; or, the Plain 
and Pleasant way to Holiness here, 
and Glory hereafter." But, perhaps 
you will say, " Alas ! my sins are too 
great to be pardoned, for I am the 
chief of sinners." I answer, if you re- 



10 

ally think so, I have far more hope for 
you, than he who thinks himself the 
chief of saints. In order that the poor 
heart-broken penitent may have his 
doubts hushed to eternal silence, let 
him hear what a holy man saith on this 
subject. 

" This is a faithful saying, and wor- 
thy of all acceptation, that Christ Je- 
sus came into the world to save sinners, 
of whom I am the chief. * He came not 
to save sinners only, but the very chief 
of sinners. And he is able to save them 
to the very uttermost. — But our sins 
are heinous, they have been often re- 
peated, and long continued in. — What 
says the apostle ? The blood of J esus 
Christ cleanseth from all sin. Another 
apostle declares, by him, by the divine- 
ly excellent Redeemer, all that believe 
are justified from all things, from all 
accusations, be they ever so numerous ; 
from all iniquity, be they ever so enor- 
mous. Nay, so wonderfully efficacious 
is the power of his death, that through 

• 1 Tim. L 15 



11 

Ills great atonement, sins which are as 
crimson, are made white, white as 
snow.* — But will Christ vouchsafe 
this great salvation to us? Hear his 
own words, He that cometh to me for 
pardon and salvation, I will in no wise 
cast out. Be his guilt ever so great, 
this shall be no bar. I will not on any 
consideration reject or deny his suit. 
Only let him come as a poor undone 
creature, and he shall find me willing 
and mighty to save ; nay, he invites you 
to come. These are his gracious words, 
Come unto me all ye that labour and 
are heavy laden, heavy laden with sin 
and misery, and I will give you rest.f 
I will deliver you from going down in- 
to the pit, I will deliver you from the 
vengeance of eternal fire. All your 
sins shall be upon me, and all my right- 
eousness shall be upon you. — Go to a 
great man on earth, beg of him to use 
his interest in your behalf; he would 
scorn to take notice of you. But your 
dear, tender, compassionate, most con-* 

• Isa, i. 18, f Matt. xi. 28. 



descending Saviour, invites you to come 
to him, and assures you he will not ab- 
hor or cast you out. — 4*o to your earth- 
ly judge, entreat him on your bonded 
knees, to pardon you.— He, perhaps 
cannot, must not : the laws forbid him. 
But it is not so with Jesus Christ, he 
has made a full satisfaction for sin ; 
he has made an infinite atonement for 
sin ; and were your sins ten thousand 
thousand times greater than they are, 
before the power of his death they 
would all vanish away ; by the wash- 
ing of his blood, they would all be as 
though they had never been. 

" This then should be the one desire 
of your souls, your incessant prayer to 
God, that you may come to Christ, that 
you may believe in Christ, that you 
may be found in Christ : then you will 
not perish, though you deserve it, but 
have everlasting Kfe^ through hhu 
name," \ 



THE CELESTIAL COMFORTER. 

SECTFON I. 

Comfort in Death. 

YE who love the Lord, remember 
through life, and when you lay upon 
your dying beds, the great happiness 
you will enjoy immediately after death, 
which is herein promised to you, by 
him who cannot lie. Therefore read 
these promises, or get them repeatedly 
read to your comfort ; and ! thank 
with supreme gratitude, the God who 
promised, and the compassionate Re- 
deemer, who purchased by his precious 
blood, so many blessings for the chief 
of sinners. The serious reader will 
find these promises and meditations full 
of consoling reflections. They will be 
more precious and profitable to the sick 
and dying penitent, than a mountain of 
gold or a valley of diamonds. There- 
fore , O reader! as you would wish your 
neighbour or friend to comfort you in 
the hour of death, do you even so to 
them, and you will find to your con- 
solation ; the blessing of Christ verified 
B 



1£ 

in you; viz. a Blessed are the merciful \ t 
for they shall find mercy." 

JPs. Ixxxiii. 24. Thou'shalt guide 
ine with thy counsel, and afterward re- 
ceive me to glory. Job iii. 17- There 
the wicked cease from troubling, and 
there the weary be at rest. Ver. 18. 
There the prisoners rest together, they 
hear not the voice of the oppressor. 
Isa. lvii. 2. He shall enter into peace ; 
they shall rest in their beds, each one 
walking in his uprightness. Luke xvi. 
25. Abraham said, Son, remember, 
that thou in thy life-time, receivedsfc 
thy good things, and likewise Lazarus 
evil things ; but now he is comforted, 
and thou art tormented. LnJce xxiii. 
43. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say 
unto thee, This day shalt thou be with 
me in paradise. Phil. i. 81. For me 
to live is Christ, and to die is gain, 
Ver. 23. Having a desire to depart, 
and to be with Christ, which is far bet- 
ter. 2 Cor. v. 8. We are confident, I 
say, and willing rather to be absent 
from the body, and to be present with 



id 



the Lord. Ileb. xii. 23. And to the 
spirits of just men made perfect. Rei\ 
xiv. 13. Blessed are the dead which 
die in the Lord, from henceforth : yea, 
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
their labours, and their works do follow 
them. Ps. xlix. 15. God will redeem 
my soul from the power of the grave ; 
for he shall receive me, 1 Cor. ii. 9. 
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nei- 
ther hath it entered into the heart of 
man, the things which God hath pre- 
pared for them that love him. Heb. xi. 
16. They desire a better country, that 
is, an heavenly : wherefore God is not 
ashamed to be called their God, for he 
hath prepared for them a city. John 
xiv. 2. In my Father's house are ma- 
ny mansions : if it were not so, I would 
have told you : 1 go to prepare a place 
for you. Ver. 3. And if I go and pre- 
pare a place, I will come again, and 
receive you unto myself, that where I 
am, there ye may be also. 2 Tim. iv. 
8. There is laid up for me a crown of 
righteousness, which the Lord the 
righteous Judge shall give me at that 



16 

day ; and not to me only, but unto all 
them also that love his appearing. 
2 Pet. iii. 13. We, according to his 
promise, look for new heavens and a 
new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous- 
ness. Rev. ii. 10. Be thou faithful un- 
to death, and I will give thee a crown 
of life. Rev. vii. 15. They are before 
the throne of God, and serve him day 
and night in his temple : and he that 
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among 
them. Ver. 16. They shall hunger no 
more, neither thirst any more, neither 
shall the sun light on them, nor any 
heat. Ver. 17. For the L^mb which 
is in the midst of the throne shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living 
fountains of water : and God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes. 
Rev. xxi. 22. I saw no temple there- 
in, for the Lord God Almighty and the 
Lamb, are the temple of it. Ver. 23. 
The city had no need of the sun, nei- 
ther of the moon to shine in it ; for the 
glory of God did lighten it, and the 
Lamb is the light thereof. Rev. xxii. 
5. There shall be no night there, and 



17 

f 

they need no candle, neither light of 
the sun ; for the Lord God giveth them 
light, and they shall reign for ever and 
ever. Is. Ix. 19, 20. t John III. 2. 
Now are we the sons of God : and it 
doth not yet appear what we shall be; 
but we know, that when he shall ap- 
pear, we shall he like him, for we shall 
see him as he is. John xvii. 22. The 
glory which thou gavest me, I have 
given them, that they may be one, even 
a9 we are one. Ver. 24. Father, I 
will that they also whom thou hast 
given me, be with me where I am, that 
they may behold my glory, which thou 
hast given me. Rev. xxi. 4. God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes ; 
and there shall be no more death, nei- 
ther sorrow, nor crying, neither shall 
there be any more pain : for the for&er 
things are passed away. Is. Ix. 20. 
The Lord shall be thine everlasting 
light, and the days of thy mourning 
shall be ended. Fs. xvi. 11. Thou 
wilt shew me the path of life : in thy 
presence is fulness of joy, at thy right 
hand there are pleasures for evermore* 
b % 



18 



Jude 24. He is able to present you 
faultless before the presence of his glo- 
ry, with exceeding joy. Mat. xiii. 43. 
The righteous shall shine forth as the 
sun, in the kingdom of their Father. 
Dan. xii. 3. They that be wise shall 
shine as the brightness of the firma- 
ment ; and they that turn many to right- 
eousness, as the stars for ever and ever. 
Rom. viii. 18. The sufferings of this 
present life are not worthy to be com- 
pared with the glory which shall be 
revealed in us. 2 Cor. iv. 17- Our 
light affliction, which is but for a mo- 
ment, worketh for us a far more ex- 
ceeding and eternal weight of glory. 
Col. iii. 4. When Christ, who is our 
life, shall appear, then shall ye also ap- 
pear with him in glory. 2 Pet. i. 11. 
An entrance shall be ministered unto 
you abundantly into the everlasting 
kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. 2 Tim. iv. 18. The Lord will 
preserve me unto his heavenly king- 
dom. Luke xxii. 30. That ye may 
eat and drink at my table in my king- 
dom, and sit on thrones, judging, the 



19 

twelve tribes of Israel. 1 Thess. iv. 
17. So shall we be ever with the Lord. 
Rev. xxfl. 3. The throne of God arid 
the Lamb shall be in it, and his ser- 
vants shall serve him. Ver. 4. And 
they shall see his face, and his name 
shall be in their foreheads. 

In order to prove the truth of the 
above promises of support in death, we 
subjoin an account of the resignation of 
several dying individuals, in whom they 
were literally fulfilled. 

" Joseph, when he was a-dying, 
spoke lovingly to his brethren, who had 
dealt cruelly with him ; and assured 
them of the Lord's faithfulness in keep- 
ing his promise to their fathers, Gen. 
1. 20. ' I die, and God will surely visit 
you, and bring you out of this land,' 

" David, when his end was near, as- 
sembled the people, and solemnly 
charged them, as in the audience of God, 
to keep his commandments, 1 Chron. 
xxviii. 8, 9. And particularly, he 
charged his son and successor Solo- 
mon, to ' know the God of his father, 



so 



and to serve him with a perfect heart, 
and a willing mind/ 

u That old disciple, Polycarp, when 
he came to the stake at which he was 
burnt, desired to stand untied, saying, 
'Let me alone, for he that gave me 
strength to come to the lire, will give 
me patience to endure the flame with- 
out your tying/ 

" So holy Cyprian triumphed over 
death, saying, 'Let him only fear 
death, who must pass from this death 
to the second death/ When he heard 
the sentence of death pronounced 
against him, he said, ' I thank God for 
freeing me from the prison of this 
body/ 

"Basil, when the emperor Valens 
sent his officers to tempt him with great 
preferments to turn him from the faith, 
he rejected them with scorn, saying, 
'You may offer these things to chil- 
dren/ And when they threatened him 
with sufferings he said, ' threaten your 
purple gallants with these things, that 
give themselves to their pleasures/* 



21 



H Ignatius being led from Syria to 
Rome to be torn to pieces of wild beasts, 
be expressed bis fear lest it should 
happen to him as to. some others, that 
the lions out of a kind of reverence, 
would not dare to touch him. And 
therefore he oft wished, ' that their -ap- 
petites might be whetted to dispatch 
him. For, said he, the lions' teeth are 
but Jike a mill, which though it bruisr- 
eth, yet wasteth not the good wheat, 
only prepares and fits it to be made 
pure bread. Let me be broken by 
them, so that I may be made pure inan- 
chet for heaven/ 

"Mrs. Jean Askew, who was a 
martyr in king Henry's reign, to her 
confession in Newgate, she thus sub- 
scribed ; ' Written by me Jean As- 
kew, that neither wisheth death, nor 
feareth its might, and as merry as one 
bound towards heaven.' When the 
chancellor sent her letters at the stake, 
offering her the king's pardon, if she 
would recant ; she refusing to look up- 
on them, gave this answer, • That she 



%% 



came not hither to deny her Lord and 
Master/ 

"Mr. James Bainham, when he 
was at the stake, in the midst of the 
burning fire, which half consumed his 
legs and arras, he spake these words : 
4 O ye papists ! behold ye look for mira- 
cles, and here now ye may see a mira- 
cle ; for in this fire I feel no more pain, 
than if I were in a bed of down ; % it is 
to me as a bed of roses/ 

" John Lambert, as be was burning 
in Smithfield, and his legs were quite 
consumed by fire, he lifted up his hands, 
his fingers flaming like torches, but his 
heart abounding with comfort, crying 
out, 'None but Christ, none but Christ/ 

"Mr. Robert Glover, a little before 
his death, had lost the sense of God's 
favour, for which he was in great hea~ 
viness and sorrow ; but when he came 
within sight of the stake at which he 
was to suffer, he was on a sudden so 
filled with divine comfort, that -clap- 
ping his hands together, he cried out 
to his servant, ' he is come f and so 
died most cheerfully. 



23 



" Oecolampadius, that famous divine 
of Switzerland, when lying on his 
death-bed, and being asked whether 
the light did not offend him ? he an- 
swered, pointing to his breast, ' Here 
is abundance of light ;' meaning of 
comfort and joy. He asked one of his 
friends, What news ? his friend an- 
swered, none. ' Then/ saith he, ' I 
will tell you some news ; I shall pre- 
sently be with my Lord Christ/ 

" David Chitraus, when he lay a 
dying, lifted up his head from the pil- 
low to hear the discourses of his friends 
that sat by him, and said ' That he 
should die with the greater comfort, if 
he might die learning something/ 

" The famous Mr. Durham being vi- 
sisted by a minister in his last sickness, 
which was long and lingering, who 
said to him, ' Sir, I hope you have so 
set all in order, that you have nothing 
else to do but die/ 'I bless God, 
(said Mr. Durham) I have not had that 
to do these many years/ 

" Mr. Rowland Nevet's dying prayer 
for his children was, That the Media- 



24 



tor's blessing might be the portion of 
every one of them. Adding to them, 
I charge you all, see to it, that you 
meet me on the right hand of Christ 
at the great day. When he was some- 
times much spent with his labours he 
would appeal to God, that though he 
might be wearied in his service, he 
"would never be weary of it. Being oft 
distempered in his body, he would say, 
he was never better than in the pulpit, 
and that it was the best place that he 
eould wish to die in. 

" Mr. Philip Henry, when a dying, 
his pains were very sharp, he said to 
his neighbours who came to see him, 
' O make sure work for your souls by 
getting an interest in Christ, while you 
are in health ; for if I had that work to 
do now, what would become of me.' A 
little before Ids last illness he wrote to 
a reverend brother, ' Methinks it is 
strange, that it should be your lot and 
mine to abide so long on earth by the 
.-tuff, when so many of our friends are 
dividing the spoil above ; but God will 
have it so : and to be willing to live hi 



35 

obedience to his holy will, is as true an 
act of grace as to be willing to die when 
he calls. 9 One asked him how he did, 
he answered, ' I find the chips fly oft' 
apace, the tree will be down shortly.' 
He was sometimes taken with fainting 
fits, which when he recovered from, he 
would say, ' Dying is but a little more/ 
Once he said after recovery, ' Wei!, I 
thought I had been putting into the har- 
bour, but I find I mustyet to sea again." 

" Mr. Matthew Henry's death was 
somewhat sadden ; he said a little be- 
fore, to some about him, 6 You have 
been used to take notice of the sayings 
of dying men ; this is mine, That a life 
spent in the service of God, and com- 
munion with bim, is the most comforta- 
ble and pleasant life that any one can 
live in this world. ' 

"John Stewart, provost of Ayr, was 
a singularly pious man ; yet when he 
lay a dying, he said to some about 
him, ' I go the way of all flesh, and it 
may be some of you doubt nothing of my 
well-being ; yea, I testify, that except 
when I slept, or was on business, I was 
c 



26 

not these ten years without thoughts of 
God, so long as I could be in going 
from my house to the cross ; and yet I 
doubt myself, and am in great agony, 
yea, at the brink of despair.' But a 
day or two before he died, he turned his 
face to the wall from company for two 
hours. Then Mr. Furguson the minis- 
ter coming in, asked w hat he was a do- 
ing? upon which he turned himself 
with these words ; ' I have been fight- 
ing and working out my salvation with 
fear and trembling ; and now I bless 
God, it is perfected, sealed, confirmed., 
and all fears are gone.' v 

MEDITATION. 

O how happy is that man, who feels 
himself in the divine embrace when 
sickness seizes and medicine fails him ! 
How delightful will the experience of 
the Saviour's love be in that all-impor~ 
tant moment ! How pleasurable will that 
smile, which enlightens heaven and en- 
raptures angels, be, to the dying saint, 
when bidding a long arid last farewell 



27 

to all earthly things ! With death comes 
life, liberty, peace and love ; while 
darkness, discord, tumult, sorrow and 
grief take their everlasting flight. 
While the good man is walking over 
the bridge of death, (for, " Faith builds 
a bridge across the gulf of death") he 
hears, or thinks he hears, the harmoni- 
ous songs of angels, echo from the hea- 
venly shore. Not a murmuring word 
escapes from the dying saint ; he bears 
with patience and composure the pains 
of sickness, till the midwife death de- 
livers him from the womb of time, to 
view the golden light of eternity. Me- 
thinks I hear him, with a smile of tran- 
quillity on his countenance, expressing 
his raptures in these, or words like 
these : 

"O death, where is thy sting? where 
is thy boasted victory ? The conquest 
is mine ; I shall pass in triumph through 
thy dark dominions ; aud through the 
grace of the Son of God, my divine 
leader, I shall appear there, not a cap- 
tive, but a conqueror. 



28 



'** O king of terrors, where are thy 
formidable looks? lean see nothing 
dreadful in thy aspect: thou appearest 
with no tokens of defiance, nor dost thou 
come with a summons from a severe 
judge, but gentle invitations from my 
blessed Redeemer, who has passed 
gloriously through thy territories in his 
way to his throne. 

" Thrice welcome, thou kind messen- 
ger of my liberty and happiness ! a 
thousand times more welcome than 
jubilee to the wretched slave, than par- 
don to a condemned malefactor. I am 
going from darkness and confinement 
to immense light and perfect liberty ; 
from those tempestuous regions to the 
soft and peaceful climes above; from 
pain and grief to everlasting ease and 
tranquillity. For the toils of virtue, I 
shall immediately receive its vast re- 
wards; for the -reproach of fools, ihe 
honour and applause of angels. In a 
few minutes I shall be brighter than 
yonder stars, and brighter far than 
they, I shall range the boundless aether, 
&nd breathe the balmy airs of paradise. 



29 

I shall presently behold my glorious 
Maker, and sing hallelujahs to my ex- 
Orlted Saviour. 

" And now come, ye bright guardians 
of the just, conduct me through the un- 
known and trackless aether, for you 
pass and repass the celestial road con- 
tinually : you have commission not to 
leave me till I arrive at Mount Sion, 
the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the 
living Grod : till I come to the innume- 
rable company of angels, and the spirits 
of just men made perfect. 

" Hold out, faith and patience ; it is 
but a little while, and your work will 
be at an end ; but a few moments, and 
these sighs and groans shall be convert- 
ed into everlasting hallelujahs ; but a 
few weary steps, and the journey of life 
will be finished. One effort more, and 
I shall have gained the top of the ever- 
lasting hills, and from yonder bright 
summit shall presently look back on 
the dangers I have escaped in my tra- 
vels through the wilderness. 

"Roll faster on, ye lingering mi- 
nutes : the nearer my joys, the more 
eg 



30 



impatient I am to seize them ; after these 
painful agonies, how greedily shall I 
drink in immortal ease and pleasure ! 
Break away, ye thick clouds; be gone, 
ye envious shades, and let me behold 
the glories ye conceal ; let me see the 
promised land, and survey the happy 
regions I am immediately to possess. 
How long will ye interpose between 
ine and my bright sun ? between me, 
and the unclouded face of God ? Look 
up, my soul, see how sweetly those 
reviving beams break forth ! how they 
dispel the gloom, and gild the shades 
of death ! Come then, welcome death ; 
I am prepared to die." 

Christ only can make a sick bed a 
bed of roses, and when death removes 
all other earthly comforts from you, 
you may possess celestial consolation 
in him. O then give God glory before 
you die ; yea, with your expiring 
breath, and at the same time be asham- 
ed and confused that you have so sel- 
dom given him glory in your health. 
Ascribe your salvation to Christ, and 
place no depend ance on your own self- 
righteousness. 



31 

PSALM LIX. 

" Remember, Lord, our mortal state, 
How frail our li£e, how short our date ! 
Where is the man, that draws his breath, 
Safe from disease, secure from death ? 

Lord, while we see whole nations die, 
Our flesh and strength repine and cry, 
' Must Death for ever rage and reign ? 

* Or hast thou made mankind in vain ? 

1 Where is thy promise to the just ? 

* Are not thy servants turn'd to dust ? f 
But faith forbids these mournful sighs, 
And sees the sleeping dust arise. 

That glorious hour, that dreadful day, 
Wipes the reproach of saints away, 
And clears the honour of thy word : 
Awake, our souls, and bless the Lord." 

•'.Think, mighty God, on feeble man ; 
How few his hours ! how short his span ( 

Short, from the cradle to the grave <: 
Who can secure his vital breath 
Against the bold demands of death, 

With skill to fly, or pow'r to save 1 

Lord, shall it be for ever said, 

* The race of man was only made 

1 For sickness, sorrow, and the dust V 
Are not thy servants, day by day, 
Sent to their graves, and turn'd to clay ? 

Lord, where's thy kindness to the just i 

Hast thou not promis'd to thy Son, 
And all his seed, a heav'nly crown ? 
But flesh and sense indulge despair ; 



3S 

For ever blessed be the Lord, 
That faith can read his holy word, 
And find a resurrection there. 

For ever blessed be the Lord, 
Who gives his saints a long reward 
For all their toil, reproach and pain : 
Let all below, and all above, 
Join to proclaim thy wondrous love, 
And each repeat their loud Amen.'' 9 



SECTION II. 

Support in Trouble. 

You who are beset with ill and 
covered with trouble, read the follow- 
ing promises to your comfort ; and rest 
assured, God only afflicts you to-day, 
n order to reward you to-morrow. In 
the mean time he sends you these cheer- 
ing promises, in order to encourage you 
to hope, and patiently wait for deliver- 
ance ; which is at hand, if you grate- 
fully and humbly trust in his mercy 
aud gracious promises. 

Job viii. 20. Behold, God will not 
cast away a perfect man, neither will 
he help the evil doers. Ver. "21. Till 
he fill thy mouth will laughing, and 



33 



thy lips with rejoicing. Job xi. 16* 
Thou siialt forget* thy misery and re- 
member it as waters that pass away. 
Job xxxvi. 16. Even so would he 
have removed thee out of the strait in- 
to a broad place, where there is no 
straitness ; and that which should be 
set on thy table, should be full of fat- 
ness. Ps. xxx. 5. His anger endureth 
but for a moment : In his favour is life : 
■AVecping may endure for a night, but 
joy cometh in the morning. Ps. xxxiv. 
19. Many are the afflictions of the 
righteous, but the Lord delivereth him 
out of them all. Ps. xlii. 11. A¥hy 
art thou cast down, O my soul? And 
why art thou disquieted within me? 
Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise 
him, who is the health of my counte- 
nance, and my God. Ps. lxxviii. 13. 
Though ye have lien among the pots, 
ye shall be as the wings of a dove, cov- 
ered with silver, and her feathers with 
yellow gold. Ps. lxxi. 20. Thoa which 
hast shewed me great and sore troubles, 
shalt quicken me again, and shall bring 
me upon again from the depths of the 



34 

earth. Ps. xviii. 27. Thou wilt save 
the afflicted people, but will bring clown 
high looks. Ver. 28. For thou wilt 
light my candle : The Lord my God 
will enlighten my darkness. Ps. cxlvi. 
8. The Lord openeth the eyes of the 
blind, the Lord raiseth them that are 
bowed down. Ps. cvii. 49. They cry 
unto the Lord in their trouble: He de- 
livereth them out of their distresses. 
Ps. exxvi. 5. They that sow in tears, 
shall reap in joy. Ver. 6. He that go- 
eth forth and weepeth, bearing precious 
seed, shall doubtless come again with 
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with 
him. Prov. xxi. 8. The righteous is 
delivered out of trouble, and the wick- 
ed cometh rn his stead. Prov. xii. 13. 
T5)e wicked is snared by the transgres- 
sion of his lips : but the just shall come 
out of trouble. Prov. xxiv. 16 A just 
man falleth seven times, and riseth up 
again. Jfer. xxix. 11. £ know the 
thoughts that I think towards you, 
gaith the L:>rd ; thoughts of peace, artd 
not of evil, to give you an expected end. 
Jer. xxxi. 12. Their soul shall be as a 



83 

watered garden, and they shall not sor- 
row any more. Ver. 13. 1 will turn 
their mourning into joy, and will com- 
fort them, and make them rejoice from 
their sorrow. Hos. iv. 1. Come and 
let us return unto the Lord, for he hath 
torn, and he will heal us ; he hath smit- 
ten, and he will bind us up. 

MEDITATION. 

Had I a throat of brass, and ada- 
mantine lungs, I would bear witness 
to the truth and faithfulness of Godfj 
who is a sure refuge in the time of trou- 
ble. Who can wish a greater certain- 
ty than the divine word to depend upon ? 
If we are forsaken by the Creator, how 
vain is it to expect consolation from the 
creature ! Whither then shall I lool£ 
in my trouble ? from whom shall I ex- 
pect relief, if there is no help for me in 
God ? Can he forget the work of his 
hands? or, being supremely happy him- 
self, can he leave his poor creatures 
hopeless, helpless and miserable ? It is 
impossible. Apply thyself to him, O 
miserable child of misfortune, and be* 



36 



lipve, without any manner of doubt, 
that he will relieve you, and it shall be 
done to you according to your faith. It 
is not in the power of men or angels 
to alleviate thv distress : why then de- 
pei d upon an arm of flesh? Why art 
thou so slow in turning to the strong for 
strength ? If God smiles, no matter if 
all mankind should frown ; and where, 
I would ask, can we expect to find so 
much delight as his smile can give? 
His smile (in one word) changes a pri- 
son to a palace, and his frown .metamor- 
phoses a palace to a loathsome dun- 
geon. If We possess Christ by faith, 
wb can find no want. Whatever ene- 
mies arise, whatever sorrows surround 
us, at his voice the storms hush to si- 
lence ; and the sorrows vanish at his re- 
buke. Though death and hell, false 
friends and furious foes should level 
their darts against me, the shield of 
faith repels them all, and I remain in 
perfect tranquillity. His precious pro- 
mises were given for the encourage- 
ment in the hour of trouble. Why then 
neglect to profit by them? How foolish 



37 

must that man be, who starves while a 
table is spread before him, abounding 
with all kinds of necessary food. 

PSALM LXXVII. 

" To God I cri'd with mournful voice,, 

I sought his gracious ear, 
In the sad hour when trouble rose, 

And fill'd my heart with fear. 

Sad were my days and dark my nighfs, 

My soul refus'd relief; 
I thought on God, the just and wise, 

But thoughts increased my grief. 

Still I complain'd, and still opprest, 

My heart began to break ; 
My God thy wrath forbade my rest, 

And kept my eyes awake. 

My overwhelming sorrows grew 

Till I could speak no more ; 
Then I within myself withdrew, 

And call'd thy judgments o'er. 

I calPd back years and ancient time£ 

When I beheld thy face ; 
My spirit search'd for seotet crimes 

That might withhold thy' grace. 

I call'd thy mercies to my mind, 

Which I enjoy'd before ; 
And will the Lord no more be kind, 

His face appear no mor« ? 

Will he for ever cast me off ? 

His promise ever fail ? 
Has he forgot his tender love I 
Shall anger still prevail I 
D 



38 

But I forbid this hopeless thought, 

This dark despairing frame, 
Remernb'ring what thy hand hath wrought ; 

Thy hand is still the same. 

1*11 think again of all thy ways, 

And talk thy w orders o'er, 
Thy wonders of recov'ring grace, 

When flesh could hope no more. 

Grace dwelt with Justice on the throne; 

And men that love thy word, 
Have in thy sanctuary known 

The counsels of the Lord." 



SECTION HI. 

Encouragement to hopejor deliverance 
in time of trouble. 

If God permit your trouble to con- 
tinue, it is because you will not hum- 
bly look to him for rest and refuge. 
Therefore turn to him, who has pro- 
mised support and deliverance to the 
humble penitent. 

Ps. ix. 1). The Lord will be a re- 
fuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times 
of trouble. Ps. xxii. 24. He hath not 
despised nor abhorred the affliction of 
the afflicted; neither hath he hid his 



39 I- 

face from him: But when he cried uu- 
to him, he heard. Ps. xxvii. 14. 
Wait on the Lord : be of good courage, 
and he shall strengthen thine heart : 
Wait, I say, on the Lord. Ver. 12. 
When my father and my mother for- 
sake me, then the Lord will take me 
up. Ps. xxxvii. 24. Though he fall, 
he shall not be utterly cast down : For 
the Lord upboldeth him with his hand. 
Ver. 39. The salvation of the righte- 
ous is of the Lord : He is their strength 
in the time of trouble. Ps. xviii. 2. 
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, 
and my deliverer : My God my strength, 
in whom I will trust ; my buckler, and 
the horn of my salvation, and my high 
tower. Ps. xlvi. 1. God is our refuge 
and strength, a very present help in 
trouble. Ver. 2. Therefore will not 
we fear, though the earth be removed, 
and though the mountains be carried 
into the midst of the sea. Ver. 3. 
Though the waters thereof roar, and 
be troubled ; though the mountains 
shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 
Ps. Iv. 32. Cast thy burden upon the 



40 

Lord, and he shall sustain thee : He 
shall never suffer the righteous to be 
moved. Ps. xxxi, 7- I will be glad 
and rejoice in thy mercy: For thou 
liast considered my trouble ; thou hast 
known my soul in adversities. Exod. 
iii. 7- I have surely seen the affliction 
of my people which are in Egypt, and 
have heard their cry by reason of their 
task-masters : For I know their sor- 
rows. Ps. xli. Blessed is he that 
considereth the poor; the Lord will 
deliver him in time of trouble. Ps. 
Ixxi. 3. Thou hast given command- 
ment to save me, for thou art my rock 
and my fortress. Ps. cxii. 4. Unto the 
upright there ariseth light in the dark- 
ness. Ps. cxxxvi. 33. Who remember- 
eth us in our low estate: for his mercy 
endureth for ever. Ps. cxxxviii. 7- 
Though I walk in the midst of trouble 
thou wilt revive me : Thou sbalt stretch 
forth thine hand against the wrath of 
thine enemies, and thy right hand shall 
save me. Ps. lxxiii. 26. My flesh and 
my heart faiieth ; but God is the strength 
of my heart, Ps. cxlv. 14. The Lord 



41 

upholdcth all that fall, and raiseth up all 
that are bowed down. Isa. xxv. 4. 
Thou hast been a strength to the poor, 
a strength to the needy in his distress, 
a refuge from the storm, a shadow from 
the heat, w hen the blast of the terrible 
ones is as a storm against the wall. 
Isa. xxvii. 8. In measure, when it 
shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with 
it : He stayeth his rough wind in the 
day of the east wind. Job xxxiv. S3. 
He will not lay upon man more than is 
right, that he should enter into judg- 
ment with God. Isa. 1. 10. Who is 
among you that feareth the Lord, that 
obeyeth the yoice of his servant, that 
walketh in darkness and hath no light, 
let him trust in the name of the Lord, 
and stay upon his God. Lam. iii. 31. 
The Lord will not cast off' for ever, 
Ver. 32, But though he cause grief, 
yet will he have compassion, according 
to the multitude of his mercies. Ver. 
33. For he doth not afflict willingly, 
nor grieve the children of men. Jer. 
xxx. 11. I am with thee saiih the 
Lord, to save thee : I will correct the© 

1)2 



42 



in measure, and will not leave thee al- 
together unpunished. Jer. xvi. 19. O 
Lord my refuge and my fortress ; and 
my refuge in the day of my affliction. 
Mic. vii, 8. Rejoice not against me, 
O mine enemy : When I fall, I shall 
arise ; when I sit in darkness, the Lord 
shall be a light unto me. Ver. 9. I 
will bear the indignation of the Lord, 
because I have sinned against him, un- 
til he plead my cause, and execute 
judgment for me : He will bring me 
forth to the light, and I shall behold 
bis righteousness, JVa//. i. 7- The 
Lord is good, a strong hold hi the day 
of trouble, and he knoweth them that 
trust in him. Mat. xi. 28. Come un- 
to me, all ye that labour, and are hea- 
vy laden, and I will give you rest- 
John xvi. 33. These livings I have 
spoken unto you. that in me ye might 
have peace : In the world ye shall have 
tribulation ; but be of good cheer, I 
have overcome the world. 2 Cor. i. 5. 
For as the sufferings of Christ abound 
in us, so our consolation also abound- 
£th by Christ. 2 Cor. iv. 8. We are 



43 



troubled on every side, yet not distress- 
ed ; we are perplexed, but not in de- 
spair. Ver. 9. Persecuted, but not for- 
saken ; cast down, but not destroyed. 

MEDITATION. 

If you ever, my dear reader, receive 
eternal life at all, or deliverance from 
your trouble, it must be as a free gift, 
and not as a debt. If we are onlv re- 
warded for what our own vanity, or the 
partiality of our friends call good 
works, we must be miserable indeed. 
Without Christ, where, where would 
be our hope ? For my part, every view 
I take of myself, fills me with horror 
and confusion. With all thy boasted 
virtue, proud pharisee, thou hast cause 
to tremble at the thought of appearing 
before the unsullied Majesty of hea- 
ven, without Christ in thy arms, like 
good old Simeon. Should the just 
Judge, seated on his emerald throne, 
supported on the wings of smiling che- 
vubims, enter into judgment with thee 
for the best actions of thy life, surely 
■thou wouldst iind to thy eternal disap- 



44 



pointment, all thy good works were 
stained with vanity, thy devotion min- 
gled with irreverence, thy charity with 
self-applause, thy chastity with intel- 
lectual impurity, thy humanity with self- 
conceit, thy humility with vain-glory. 
In short, some latent spark of self-will 
or self-applause, have blemished all thy 
glory. Hence God often views with 
sovereign contempt, what man views 
with approbation. Avaunt then, all ye 
vain, delusive, self-righteous thoughts! 
I will no more dishonour'thee so, my 
Saviour, and rob thee of thy mediato- 
rial crown, bv trusting in mvown «;ood 
works for salvation. I will, from this 
sacred moment, begin to put my whole 
trust in God alone — -but that thou will 
forgive me aggravates my criminality. 
How low has my error and folly reduc- 
ed me in my own eyes, and in the sight 
of heaven. Alas ! my blessed Saviour, 
I have spent a long and healthy life in 
following the errors and follies of this 
miserable world : let then shame and 
regret cover me ; for I have provoked 
my best friend and benefactor, who has 



15 

preserved me from ten thousand dan* 
gers, and snatched me from the de- 
struction into which I plunged myself, 
while I murmured against my heavenly 
friend that thus saved me. Had it been 
an enemy that I had offended, I should 
not thus grieve; but when I remember 
that thou art and hast been a true friend, 
benefactor, father and king to me, the 
source and sum total of all my happi- 
ness, good LQrd, what a hateful and 
horrible wretch do 1 appear ! Thy 
laws I knew are just and good, and 
this knowledge heightens my mighty 
guilt ; for I have violated the justice I 
admire, and dishonoured the sanctity 
I adore. 

" Yet O ! the chief of sinners spare, 
In honour of my great High Priest, 

Nor in thy righteous anger swear, 
T 'exclude me from thy people's rest." 

Enable me from this moment to be- 
gin to live as I intend to die ; to repent, 
believe, hope, love, and then obey the 

gospel, 

psalm cxxv. 

11 Unshaken as ihe sacred hill 
And firm as mountains stand, 



4* 

jPirm as a rock the sou! shall rest 
That trusts th* Almighty hand. 

Not walls nor hills could guard so well 
Old Salem's happy ground, 

As those eternal arms of love, 
That ev'ry saint surround. 

While tyrants are a smarting scourge, 
To drive them near to God, 

Divine compassion will assuage 
The fury of the rod. 

Deal gently, Lord, with souls sincere, 

And lead them safely on 
To the bright gates of paradise, 

Where Christ their Lord is gone. 

But if we trace those croojced ways 

That the old serpent drew, 
The wrath that drove him first to hell 

Shall smite his followers too." 

** Firm and unmov'd are they 
That rest their souls in God, 

Firm as the mount where David dw^it 
Or where the ark abode, 

As mountains stood to guard 

The City's sacred ground, 
So God and his almighty love 

Embrace his saints around. 

What though the Father's rod 

Drop a chastising stroke, 
Yet, lest it wound their soul too deep. 

Its fury shall be broke. 

Deal gently, Lord, with those 
Whose fa'uh and pious fear, 



Whose hope and love, and ev'ry grace, 
Proclaim their hearts sincere. 

Nor shall the tyrant's rage, 
Too long oppress the saint ; 

The God of Israel will support 
His children r lest they faint. 

But if our slavish fear 

Will choose the road to hell. 

We must expect our portion there, 
Where bolder sinners dwell. 



SECTION IV. 

The sick bed made a bed of roses. 

Ye who are laid on beds of sickness, 
remember the good Physician uses 
those means to wean you from the love 
of this world : let not the divine reme- 
dy be rendered abortive by your obdu- 
racy. You now promise on the return 
of health, to love God more, and serve 
him better. Oh ! remember to fulfil 
your promise of amendment, when your 
good God accomplishes the promises 
he now makes you of deliverance* 

Exod. xxiii. 25. Ye shall servd the 
Lord your God, and I will take away 
srckness from the midst of thee* Exod. 



48 

xv. 26. If tbou wilt diligently hearken 
to the voice of the Lord thy God, and 
wilt do that which is right in his sight, 
and wilt give ear to his commandments, 
and keep all his statutes ; I will put 
none of these diseases upon thee, which 
I have brought upon the Egyptians ; 
for I am the Lord that healeth thee. 
Job xxxiv. 24. He is gracious unto 
him, and saith, Deliver him from going 
dowii to the pit, I have found a ran- 
som. Ver. 25. His flesh shall be 
fresher than a child's : he shall return 
to the days of his youth. Ver. 26. He 
shall pray unto God, and he will be 
favourable unto him, and he shall see 
his ftice with joy : for he will render 
unto man his righteousness. Ver. 28. 
He will deliver his soul from going in- 
to the pit, and his life shall see the 
light. Fs. xci. 3. Surely he shall de- 
liver thee from the snare of the fowler, 
and from the noisome pestilence. Ver* 
5. Thou shalt not be afraid for the 
terror by night, nor for the arrow that 
ilieth by day. Ver. 6. Nor for the 
pestilence that walketh in darkness? 



49 

nor for the destruction that wasteth at 

A„-r *»« piii 3 Who forsavetu 
noonday. ri>. cm. «s. y »» » 

all thine iniquities ; who heale h all thy 
diseases. Deut. vii. 13. The Lord 
will take away from thee all sickness, 
and will put none of the evil diseases 
of Egypt upon thee. Jer. xxxm. b. 
Behold, I will bring health and cure; 
and I will cure them and will reveal 
unto them the abundance of peace and 
truth. P*. xli. 3. The Lord will 
strengthen him upon the bed ot lan- 
guishing; thou wilt make all his bed 
in his sickness. 

MEDITATION. 

How often does the Almighty afflict 
his creatures, in order to cure them ot 
their attachment to this world, and win 
them to their own happiness ! O then, 
I will no more, my God 1 , forsake, nor 
cast thy love behind me ! \es, when 1 
cease to love thee, let me cease to live : 
when I forget thy past, favours, let no- 
thing but horrid images haunt my af- 
frighted imagination! When to do thy 
blessed will is not dearer to me than 



60 

life, let tlrat life be a burthen to me. 
When 1 disregard the sweetness of thy 
love, let every one hate me. When [ 
seek not to please thee, let every thing 
offend me. When thou art not my 
hope, my heaven, my all, let the hor- 
rors of hell seize me, and the howling 
of the damned be all the sounds that 
salute my ear, till I return to thee, and 
find a refuge under the shadow of thy 
wings. When I desire any thing in 
comparison of thee, let that thing be a. 
source of misery to me. In one word, 
when I forsake my Creator, may I find 
nothing but vexation and disappoint- 
ment in the creature. These maledic- 
tions I pronounce against myself, be- 
cause I well know the treachery of the 
human heart. Search then every re- 
cess of this faithless heart of mine ; and 
whatever is found therein incompatible 
with thy divine will, O bid it all de- 
part : bid all my foolish doubts remove 
far from my heart, and reign thyself 
there, Soul of my soul, antT Sovereign 
of my affections ; and be my comfort in 
jricfciSK, a«d my support in death. 



51 

PSALM cm. 

" The Lord, how wondrous are his ways 4 

How firm his truth ! how lar^e his grace I 

He takes his mercy for his throne, 

And thence lie makes his glories known* 

Not half so high his pow'r hath spread , 
The starry heav'ns above our head, 
As his rich love exceeds our praise, 
Exceeds the highest hopes we raise; 

Not half so far hath nature plac'd 
The rising morning from the west, 
As his forgiving grace removes 
The daily guilt of those he loves. 

How slow his awful wrath to rise 1 
On swifter wings salvation flies ; 
And if he lets his anger burn, 
How soon his frowns to pity turn i 

Amidst his wrath compassion shines ; 
His strokes are lighter than our sins ; 
And, while'his rod corrects his sa>nt§, 
His ear indulges their complaints. 

So fathers their young sons chastise, 
With gentle hands and melting eyes; 
/The children weep beneath the smart, 
; And move the pity of their heart. 

The mighty God, the wise and just. 
Knows that our frame is feeble dust,, 
And will no heavy loads impose 
Beyond the strength that he bestow-s. 

He knows how soon our nature dies, 
Blasted by ev'ry wind that flies ; 
Like grass we spring, and die as soon, 
Or morning flow'rs that fade at noon. 



53 

But his eternal love is sure 
To all his saints, and shall endure ; 
From age to age his truih shall reigr^ 
Nor children's children hope in vain. 



SECTION V. 

Earthly enemies intended to drive u§ 
to our heavenly Friend. 

Ye who, like me, are surrounded 
with implacable enemies, remember, 
they are intended to constrain us to 
lean not on man, but God. In order 
that we may not be terrified by their 
lofty supercilious frowns, God has 
given us the following precious promi- 
ses of deliverance in due time. 

3 Kings vi. 16. Fear not, for they 
that be with us are more than they that 
be with them. 2 Chron. xiv. 11. Lord 
it is nothing with thee to help, whether 
With many, or with them that have no 
power. 2 Kings xvii. 39. The Lord 
your God ye shall fear, and he shall 
deliver you out of the hand of all your 
enemies. Ps. xvii. 7- Hhew thy ma*\ 



58 



vellous loving kindness, O thou that 
savest by tby right hand them which 
put their trust in thee, from those that 
rise up against them. Ps. xxvii. 9. 
In the time of trouble he shall hide me 
in his pavilion ; in the secret of his ta- 
bernacle shall he hide me ; he shall set 
me up upon a rock. Ver. 6. And 
now shall mine head be lifted up above 
mine enemies round about me, there- 
fore will I offer in his tabernacle sacri- 
fices of joy ; I will sing, yea, I will 
sing praises unto the Lord. Ps. xxxvii. 
32. The wicked watcheih the righte- 
ous, and seeketli to slay him. Ver. 33. 
The Lord will not leave him in his 
hand, nor condemn him when he is 
judged. Ver. 40. And the Lord shall 
help and deliver them : lie shall deliver 
them from the wicked, and save them, 
because they trust in him. Ps. xcvii. 
10. He preserveth the souls of his 
saints : he deiivereih them out of the 
hand of the wicked. Ps. cxii. 8. His 
heart is established, he shall not be 
afraid, until he see his desire upoir his 
e3 



54 



enemies. Ps. exviii. 7* The LortI 
taketh iny part with them that help me : 
therefore shall I see my desire upon, 
mine enemies. Ps. cxxv. 3. The rod 
of the wicked shall not rest upon the 
lot of the righteous, lest the righteous 
put forth their hands unto iniquity. 
Job viii. 22. They that hate thee shall 
be clothed with shame, and the dwel- 
ling-place of the wicked shall come to 
nought. Prov. xvi. 7- When a man's 
ways please the Lord, he makeih even 
his enemies to be at peace with him. 
Is. xxv. 5. Thou shalt bringdown the 
noise of strangers as the heat in a drv 
place : even the heat with the shadow 
of a cloud : the branch of the terrible 
ones shall be brought low. Is. liv. 17- 
No weapon that is formed against thee 
shall prosper: and every tongue that 
shall rise against thee in judgment, thou 
shalt condemn. This is the heritage of 
the servants of the Lord, and their 
righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. 
Vev. 15. Whosoever shall gather to- 
gether against thee, shall fall for thy 
sake. Dent, xxviii. 7. The Lord 



&9 



shall cause thine enemies^ that rise up 
against thee to be smitten before thy 
face; they shall come out against thee 
one way, and flee, before thee seven 
ways. Lnke xviL 7, 8. Shall not God 
avenge Ms own elect, that cry day and 
night unto him, though he hear long 
with them ? I tell you he will avenge 
them speedily, Jlcts xviii. 10. I am 
with thee ; and no man shall sdt on 
thee, to hurt thee. Heb. xiii. 8. So 
that we may boldly say, the Lord is 
my helper, I will not fear what man 
shall do unto me, Ps. cxviii. fi. Lul^ 
i. 71. That we shall be saved from 
our enemies, and from the hand of all 
that hate usi Ver. 74. That he would 
grant unto us that we being delivered 
oat of the bauds of our enemies, might 
serve him without fear. Ver. 75. In 
holiness and righteousness before him, 
all the days of our life. 

MEDITATION, 

Let me entreat thee, O reader, in 
order that the above precious promises 
may be rendered a blessing to thee, to 



56 



read them with simplicity and godly 
sincerity, and with your faith in lively 
exercise, make your humble confession 
to Almighty God, in these, or words to 
the like effect. Thus gain his favour 
and friendship, and you need not fear 
a host of temporal and infernal foes. 

" With the lowest reverence, and 
most humble gratitude, I desire to pros- 
trate myself before thee, acknowledg- 
ing it my greatest honour and undeserv- 
ed privilege to approach the Lord, 
and bow myself before the high God : 
I that am unworthy to utter thy tre- 
mendous name, or once to lift up my 
eyes to heaven. To my own confusion 
I here confess I have abused the mer- 
cy which I now implore, and injured 
that goodness and forbearance by my 
sins which I am now addressing my- 
self to. I have forfeited the very bene- 
fits I ask, and despised those sacred 
privileges which I am forced to plead : 
1 can use scarce any motive but what 
would carry in it my own condemna- 
tion. Shall I implore thy mercy by 
the gracious terms of the now covenant^ 



o7 

sealed by the blood of the eternal Son ? 
Alas ! that gracious covenant I have 
violated, and profaned its sacred seals : 
I have sinned against the clearest light, 
and the tenderest instances of love : I 
have not only broken my obligations 
to thee as my Creator, but the strong- 
er engagements of my adoption, even 
the glorious privilege of being admitted 
into the family , and numbered among 
the children of God. 

" But still those very circumstances 
that aggravate my guilt, exalt thy mer- 
cy ; here the freeness and magnificence 
of grace will display itself ; here thou 
wilt answer the indulgent title of a Fa- 
ther in its tenderest extent. I have no 
sins too great for infinite clemency to 
pardon. Thou hast pardoned and restor- 
ed me to thy favour too often for me now 
to despair : my penitent sighs were ne- 
ver rejected, nor my humble request 
unanswered. I have always found the 
heavens open, and the throne of God 
accessible through the blood of a Re- 
deemer. By his agony and bloody 
sweat, by his cross and passion, by his 



58 



painful death and glorious resurrection, 
I implore thy pardon : he has made a 
full atonement, and divine justice will 
demand no further satisfaction. " 

FSALM LXLIV. 

" O God, to whom revenge belongs. 

Proclaim thy wrath aloud ; 
Let sov'reign power redress our wrongs, 

Let justice smite the proud. 

They say * The Lord nor sees nor hears f 

When will the vain be wise ? 
Can he be deaf, who form'd their ears? 

Or blind, who made their eyes I 

He knows their impious thoughts are vain. 

And they shall feel his pow'r ; 
His wrath shall pierce their souls with pahi 

In some surprising hour. 

But if thy saints deserve rebuke. 

Thou hast a gentle rod ; 
Thy providence, thy sacred book. 

Shall make them know their God, 

Blest is the man thy hands chastise, 

And to his duty draw ; 
Thy scourges make thy children wise 

When they forget thy law. 

But God will n'er cast off his saints, 

Nor his own promise break ; 
He pardons his inheutance 

For their Redeemer's sake." 

•■ Who will arise and plead my right) 
A gainst, my numerous i»e,s ; 



q9* 

While earth and hell their force unite, 
And all my hopes oppose ? 

Had not the Lord, my rock, my help, 

Sustained my fainting head, 
My life had now in silence dwelt, 

My soul amongst the dead. 

* Alas ! my sliding feet !' I cried, 

Thy promise bore me up ; 
Thy grace stood constant by my side, 

And rais'd my sinking hope. 

^While multitudes of mournful thoughts 

Within my bosom roll, 
Thy boundless love forgives my faults, 

Thy comforts cheer my souU 

Pow'rs of iniquity may rise, 

And frame pernicious- laws ; 
"But God my refuge, rules the skies, 

He will defend my cause. 

Let malice vent her rage aloud, 

Let bold blasphemers scoff; 
The Lord our God shall judge the proud, 

And cut the sinners off." 



SECTION VI. 

The scourge of oppressors. 

•« The poor oppressed honest man, 

Had never sure been born. 
Ha *. t^ere not been some recompence 

To comfort those that mourn." 

Let those who groan under the iron 
jod of political or ecclesiastical opprev 



GO 



sion and injustice, recollect that God 
uses this means to cure them of their 
servility and idolatry, and will unques- 
tionably deliver them when the cure i< 
effected. But millions will not be heal- 
ed, and therefore are not delivered from 
the galling yoke of despotism. 

Exod. xxii. 2(5. If thou at all take 
thy neighbour's raiment to pledge, thou 
shalt deliver it to him by that the sun 
goeth down. Ver. 27- For that is his 
covering only, it is his raiment for his 
skin: wherein shall he sleep? And it 
shall come to pass, when he crieth un- 
to me, that I will hear ; for I am graci- 
ous. Ps. xii. 5. For the oppression 
of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, 
now will I arise, saith the Lord : I will 
set him in safety from him that pufteth 
at him. Ps. xxxv. 10. All my bones 
shall say, Lord, who is like unto thee? 
which deliverest the poor from him who 
is too strong for him ; yea, the poor and 
the needy, from him that spoileth him. 
Ps. lxxii. 4*. He shall judge the poor 
of the people, he shall save the cbil- 



61 



di'Cti of the needy, and shall break in 
pieces the oppressor. Ver. 14. He 
shall redeem their souls from deceit 
and violence ; and precious shall their 
blood be in his sight. Ps. cix. 31. He 
shall stand at the right hand of the 
poor, to save him from those that con- 
demn his soul. Ps. cxlvi. 7- Which 
executeth judgment for the oppressed. 
Eccl v. 8. If thou seest the oppres- 
sion of the poor, and violent perverting 
of judgment and justice in a province, 
marvel not at the matter : for he that is 
higher than the highest regardeth, and 
there be higher than they. Is. liv. 14. 
Jn righteousness shalt thou be esta- 
blished : thou shalt be far from oppres- 
sion, for thou shalt not fear ; and from 
terror, for it shall not come nigh thee, 

MEDITATION. 

The heavens and earth shall pass 
away, before (rod shall foil in deliver- 
ing the child of oppression that trusts 
in him. Yes, chaos shall again cover 
the face of nature with a universal 
blank; the sun shall extinguish his 



62 



golden light ; the groves shall lose their 
verdure, and the fields their flowery 
beauty, before one of the precious pro- 
mises of Jehovah shall fail. Then why 
do I doubt for a moment their literal 
fulfilment, and my deliverance from the 
iron arm of oppressiou ! O break, 
break in pieces, ye fetters of unbelief! 
and hinder me no more from participat- 
ing the plentitude of the divine liberal- 
ity by faith. Alas ! what can I find in 
this wilderness of sorrow, this region 
of misery, this vale of tears, to infatu- 
ate me, and impede my progress to im- 
mortal felicity! Why should I waste 
that breath in murmuring complaints 
and unbelieving sighs, which should 
bless God even before-hand for the 
abundant favours he has promised? I 
am certainly enveloped in great dis- 
tress, but for what purpose was I 
brought into this dilemma? Was it not 
that I might call upon thee, O my good 
God ! in my greatest calamity, and be 
delivered through faith, that I might 
glorify thee, when participating thy 
great salvation ? What clouds of wit 



6! 



nesses are on record, to encourage me 
to rely on thy faithful promises ! We 
are informed by the lip of Truth, that 
u Thou didst divide the sea, to make 
a path for thy people through the migh- 
ty waters! that thou didst rain bread 
from heaven, and dissolve the flinty 
rock in crystal rills to give thy chosen 
nation drink. 

" Thou art he that distinguished 
Noah in the universal deluge, and pre- 
served the floating ark amidst w inds, 
and rains, and tumultuous billows. 

" 'Twas thy protecting care that led 
Abraham from his kindred and his na- 
tive country, and brought him safely to 
the promised land. 

" Thou didst accompany Jacob in 
bis journey to Padan-aram, and gave 
him bread to eat, and raiment to put on ; 
till, greatly increased in substance, he 
returned to his father's house : he 
wrestled for a blessing, he wrestled 
with the Almighty and prevailed. 

" With Joseph thou wentest down 
into Egypt, and didst deliver lijm out 
of all his adversities, till he forgot his 



61 



sorrows, and all the toil of his father's 
house. 

" Thou didst remember thy people 
in the Egyptian bondage, and looked 
with pitying eyes on their affliction ; 
and, after four hundred and thirty 
years, on the very day thou hadst pro- 
mised, didst release and bring them 
out with triumph and miracles. Thy 
presence went with them in a pillar of 
a cloud by day, and a protecting fire 
by night : thy conquering hand drove 
out great and potent nations, and gave 
them entire possession of the land pro- 
mised to their fathers ; nor didst thou 
fail in the least circumstance of all the 
good things thou hadst promised. 

" What a cloud of witnesses stand on 
record ? Joshua and Gideon, Jephthah 
and Sampson, who, through faith, ob- 
tained the promises. 

" Thou didst command the ravens to 
feed thy holy prophets ; and at the word 
of a prophet didst sustain the widow's 
family with a handful of meal. 

"Thou didst walk with the three 
Hebrews in the fiery furnace ; thou wast 



65 



present with Daniel in the lions' den, 
to deliver him, because he trusted in 
thee. 

" In what instance has the prayer of 
faith been rejected? where were the 
righteous forsaken? who can charge 
God, without charging him foolishly?" 
Hence he has declared, " Them that 
honour me, I will honour; and they 
that despise me shall be lightly esteem- 
ed." 1 Sam. ii. 80. 

PSALM LXXVIII. 

w Oh, what a stiff, rebellious house 

Was Jacob's ancient race! 
False to their own most solemn vows, 

And to their Makers grace. 

They broke the cov'nant of his love, 

And did his laws derspisf ; 
Forgot the works he wrought to prove 

iiis pow'r before their eyes. 

They saw the plagues on Egypt light 

Fro in his ave« gfmg bland : 
What dreadful tokens of his mi.cht 

Spread o'er the stubborn land ! 

They saw him cleave the mighty sea, 
And march'd with safety through. 

With wat'ry walls to guard their way, 
'Till they had *icap'd the foe. 

A wondrous pillar mark'd the road, 
Compos'd of shade andl ; ght ; 
1* % 



66 

3/ day it pvov'd a sheltering cloud, 
A leading fire by night. 

He from the rock their thirst supply 'd ; 

The gushing waters flow'd, 
And ran in rivers by their side, 

Along the desert road. 

Yet they provok'd the Lord most high, 
And dar'd distrust his hand ; 
Can he with bread our host supply 
i Amidst this barren land ?' 

The Lord with indignation heard, 
And caused his wrath to flame : 

His terrors ever stand prepar'd 
To -vindicate his name." 

" When Israel sinn'd the Lord reprcv'd, 
And rlll'd ther hearts with dread ;" 

Yet he forgave the men he loved, 
And sent them heav'nly bread. 

He fed them with a lib'ral hand, 
And made his treasures known j 

He gave the midnight clouds command 
To pour provision down. 

The manna, like a morning shower, 

Lay thick around their feet ; 
The food of heav'n, so light so pure, 

As though 'twere angels' meat- 

But they in rrurm'ring language said, 

1 Is manna all our feast ? 
' We loathe this light, this airy bread ; 

1 We must have flesh to taste..' 

« Ye shall have flesh to please your I 
The Lord in wrath reply 'd, 



67 

And sent them quails, like sand or dust, 
Heap'd up on ev'ry side. 

lie gave them all their own desire; 

And greedy as they fed, 
His vengeance burnt with secret fire, 

And smote the rebels dead. 

When some were slain, the rest return'd, 
And sought the Lord with tears; 

Under the rod they fear'd and mourn'd, 
But soon fcrgot their fears. 

Oft he chastis'd, and still forgave, 

Till, by his gracious hand, 
The nation he resolv'd to save, 
Possess'd the promis'd land." 



SECTION VII, 

'Hie refuge of the righteous. 

Xe who are persecuted, slandered 
and reproached for vindicating the 
truth, rejoice and be exceeding glad, 
when you read the subsequent gracious 
promises. 

Job v. 21. Thou shalt be hid from 
the scourge of the tongue ; neither shalt 
thou be afraid of the destruction when 
it cometh. Job xi. IS. Thou shalt lift 
up thy face svithout spot. Ps. xxxviL 
6, He shall bring forth thy righteous. 



68 



ness as the light, and thy judgment aa 
the noon day. Ps. xxxi. 20. Thou 
shalt hide them in the secret of thy 
presence from the pride of man : thou 
shalt keep them secretly in a pavi- 
lion, from the strife of tongues. Ps. 
Ivii. 3. He shall send from heaven/ 
and save me from the reproach of hmi 
that would swallow me up. Bclah. 
God ihall send forth his merev, and his 
truth. Is. li. 7- Hearken unto me ye 
that know righteousness, the people hi 
Athose heart is my law : fear ye not the 
reproach of men, neither be ye afraid 
of their revilings. Ver. 8. For the 
moth shall eat them up like a garment, 
and the worm shall eat them like 
wool : but my righteousness shall be 
for ever, and my sal va! ion from genera- 
tion to generation. Mat. v. ti. Bles- 
sed are ye when men shall revile you, 
and persecute you, and shall say all 
manner of evil against you falsely, for 
my sake. Vcr\ 13. Rejoice, and be 
exceeding glad ; for great is your re- 
ward in heaven. Heb. xi. 2(5. Esteem- 
ing the reproach of Christ greater. 



69 



riches than tlie treasures in Egypt : fqr 
lie had respect unto the recompense of 
the reward. 1 Pet. iv. 14. If ye- be 
reproached for the name of Christ, hap- 
py t are ye; for the Spirit of glory and 
of God resteth upon you : on their part 
he is evil spoken of, but on your part 
he is grorilied. 

MEDITATION. 
It is the spirit of God alone, that can 
support the good man, when persecu- 
ted, slandered, and reproached, for 
Christ's sake; and that can direct his 
heart to the right use and application 
of these heavenly promises, and not the 
sermons, or directions, or comments of 
men, without the co-operation of that 
divine spirit. It is this celestial dove, 
that brings the humble loving soul a 
taste of the sweetest fruit of paradise ; 
and faith feeds delightfully thereupon. 
This faith, convinces the creature that, 
nothing he can give the Creator can suf- 
fice without he gives himself, and like- 
wise, that nothing the Creator can give 
can satisfy him without he gives him- 
self. 



70 

U Even heaven itself, without his [owe 

No lasting comfort could afford ; 
Yea, it would a tiresome burthen prove, 

If I were banished from thee, Lord.** 

What can the soul desire, that is not 
to be found in the enjoyment of God. 
Is it beauty? He is the source and sum 
total of all beauty. Is it goodness? He 
is great in goodness, and good in great- 
ness. Is it power ? He is supreme in 
power, in majesty sublime. Is it 
riches? Every child of God, is heir to 
a celestial crown and heavenly king- 
dom. Is it honour ? What can be more 
honourable, than to lie the favourite of 
heaven and the child of God. Is it 
pleasure ? Rivers of pleasure, are at 
his right hand, and delights that will 
last forever more. Is it happiness? 
Holiness and happiness, are insepara- 
ble companions. How stupid, and 
senseless, is that man that delights in 
the tranaiiory beauty, riches, honour, 
and power, of this delusive world ; 
seeing he cannot enjoy it hut for a very 
short space of time, even admitting it to 
be ever so valuable ! O, reader, art 
thou seeking happiness in those futile 



and frivolous things of time ; if so, resfe 
assured you will find to your eternal dis- 
appointment, misery instead of happi- 
ness, pain instead of pleasure. Leave 
therefore, what you will be compelled 
soon to relinquish, and embrace that 
friend which alone can comfort you ; 
when sickness seizes, medicine fails,* 
and the icy arms of death encircle yq$ 

PSALM CXX. 

(i Thou God of love, thou ever blest, 

Pity my suffering state; 
When wilt thou set my soul at rest, 

From lips that love deceit ? 

Hard lot of mine ! my days are cast 

Among the sons of strife, 
Whose never-ceasing quarrels waste 

My golden hours of life. 

X> might I fly to change my place, 

How would I choose to dwell 
In some wide, lonesome wilderness, 

And leave these gates of hell ? 

Peace is the blessing that I seek, 

How lovely are its charms! 
I am for peace ; but when I speak, 

They all declare for arms. 

New passions still their sculs engage* : 

And keep their malice strong: 
What shall be done to curb thy rages 

O thou devouring tflitgne ! 



72 

Should burning arrows smite thee through 
Strict justice would approve; 

But 1 would rather spare my foe, 
And melt his heart with love." 



SECTION VIII. 

More Encouragement against the fear 
of Death. 

"O, death, the good man's precious friend, 

The kindest, and the best ; 
Welcome the hour, my weary limbs 

Are laid with thee at rest. 
The rich and mighty fear thy blow, 

From pomp, and pleasure torn ; 
But O, a biess'd relief, to those 

V\ ho weary laden mourn." 

In addition to the antecedent promises 
of support in death, and happiness after 
death, I would humbly take the liberty 
to subjoin the subsequent Scripture 
promises. This I consider the very 
best part of the book ; and I do devout- 
ly entreat the reader, to peruse them 
with humble prayer to the Almighty* 
and on his bended knees, (if conve- 
nient) that they may prove a blessing 
to him here and hereafter. 

As we all must die we should prepare 
for death. Even the good maa sonic- 



73 

times turns pale at the approach of 
death ; merely for want of considering 
these precious promises of God, appli- 
cable to him in that awful crisis. Head, 
therefore, ye children of mortality, 
these promises, which were made to 
fortify you against the fear of death. 
And I do most humbly and earnestly 
entreat of you, to read them to your 
sick and dying friends ; that they may 
find comfort in their time of need. 

Ps. xxiii. 4. Yea, though I walk 
through the valley of the shadow of 
death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art 
with me ; thy rod and thy staff, they 
comfort me. Ps. xxxvii. 37. Mark 
the perfect man, and behold the upright ; 
for the end of that man is peace. Ps. 
xlviii. 14. For this God is our God, 
for ever and ever : he will be our 
guide, even unto death. Ps. xlix. 15. 
God will redeem my soul from the 
power of the grave ; for he shall receive 
me. Ps. Ixxiii. 26. My flesh and 
my heart faileth ; but God is the strength 
of my heart, and my portion for ever. 



Prov. xiv. 32. The righteous hath 
hope in his death. Is. xxv. 8. He 
will swallow up death in victory j and 
tlie Lord God will wipe away tears 
from off all faces. Hos. xiii. 14. I 
will ransom them from the power of 
the grave ; I will redeem them from 
death. O death ! I will he thy plagues ; 
O grave ! I will be thy destruction. 
Mom. viii. 38. For I am persuaded, 
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor 
things present, nor things to come : 
Ver. 39. Nor height, nor depth, nor 
any other creature, shall be able to se- 
parate us from the love of God, which 
is in Christ; Jesus our Lord. 2 Cor. 
iv. 19. For which cause we faint not ; 
but though our outward man perish, 
yet the inward man is renewed day by 
day. 2 Tim. i. 12. I know whom I 
have believed, and I am persuaded that 
he is able to keep that which J have 
committed unto him, against that day. 
Heb. ii. 14. That through death he 
blight destroy him that had the power 
of death, that is, the devil. Ver. 15. 



75 

And deliver them, who through fear of 
death, were all their life-time subject to 
bondage. 1 Cor. xv. 55. O death ! 
where is thy sting? O grave ! where 
is thy victory ? Ver. 56. The sting 
of death is sin, and the strength of sin 
is the law ; Ver. 57. But thanks be to 
God, which giveth us the victory, 
through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

MEDITATION. 

u Oh ! that men would praise the 
Lord for his goodness," in sickness, as 
well as health, in adversity, as well as 
prosperity, in death, as well as life. 
Those fools, who place their hopes and 
happiness, in the creature; will most 
assuredly be bereaved of both when 
that creature dies. But, those who 
praise the Lord for his goodness here, 
and trust in him alone for happiness 
hereafter ; will find to their eternal 
comfort, that he never said to any of 
the seed of Jacob, seek ye my face in 
vain. God can hear in heaven, the evil, 
ungrateful and murmuring thoughts 
which we nurture op earth. You who 



76 

wish to ascertain whether your names 
are registered in the book of life, read 
the account kept by the Almighty's 
principal secretary, viz. Conscience. 
Header, if you are laid on a sick-bed, 
O, balance your accounts for eternity 
every night; if you expect to be 
weigned in the balance, and not found 
wanting before morning. The ten vir- 
gins slumbered and slept ; but lo, at 
night, the cry of the bridegroom was 
heard, when the wise went in to the 
marriage; but the foolish went unto 
utter darkness. For to be in friend- 
ship with the bridegroom, is heaven; 
and to be at enmity with him, is hell. 
The sons of ingratitude, who by their 
conduct, daily say to Christ : u depart 
from us" will shortly hear their slight- 
ed Saviour say, " Depart from me ye 
cursed to everlasting fire." Then 
what benefit will their ill-gotten gain 
be to them, when called to give an ac- 
count of their stewardship. The truly 
rich man is he, who lays out much for 
God's poor here, because he will reap 
much true riches hereafter. While the 



n 

booby who lays up much, and lays out 
little, will find his riches like a canker, 
that will eat his flesh as with fire ; at 
any rate, he cannot be called rich, who 
hoards up much wealth, for surely he 
might as well not have it, as not use it. 
Let the poor honest man remember, that 
riches is a snare, and therefore a gra- 
cious God keeps it far from him. Let 
him also recollect, that when we are 
on a journey on a pleasant day, we are 
apt to loiter our precious time in view- 
ing the country ; but when the weather 
is gloomy, we hasten our pace to get 
to our journey's end, 

PSALM XXX. 

I will e^tol the Lord on high ; 
At thy command diseases fly : 
Who but a God, can speak and save 
From the dark borders of the grave \ 

Sing to the Lord ye saints, and prove 
How large his grace, how kind his love. 
Let all yourpow'rs rejoice, and trace 
The wondrous records of his grace. 

His anger but a moment stays J 
His love is life and length of days : 
Tho* grief an - tears the night employ. 
The morning star removes the joy, 

a % 



78 

Firm was my health, my day was brigkt, 
And I presum'd t would ne'er be night ; 
Fondly I said within my heart, 
4 Pleasure and peace snail ne'er depart.' 

But I forgot thine arm was strong, 
Which made my mountain stand so long ; 
Soon as ihy face began to hide, 
My health was gone my comforts died. 

I cry'd aloud to thee, my God, 

* What can's thou profit by my blood? 
' Deep in the dust can I declare 

* Thy truth or sing thy goodness there ? 

* Hear me O God of grace,' I said, 

4 And bring me from among the dead.' 
Thy word rebuk'd the pains I felt, 
The pard'ning love remov'd my guilt- 

My groans and tears and forms of woe, , 
Are tunrd to joy and praises now ; 
\ throw my sackcloth on the ground, 
And ease and gladness gird me round. 

My tongue, the glory of my frame, 

Shall ne'er be silent of thy name; 

Thy praise shall sound thro' earth and heaven* 

For sickness heal'd, and sins forgiv'n. 



SECTION IX. 

Mest and relief, guaranteed to all 
Mankind, 

Let those who doubt the impartiality 
of Jehovah, read these precious pro- 



79 

mises of his mercy, help and care, made 
to all mankind. 

Ps. ciii. 13. Like as a father pitieth 
his children, so the Lord pitieth them 
that fear him. Ver. 17. The mercy of the 
Lord is from everlasting to everlasting, 
upon them that fear him. Deut. iv. 
31. The Lord thy God is a merciful 
God : he will not destroy thee. Isa. 
xxx. 18. Therefore will the Lord wait, 
that he may be gracious unto you ; and 
therefore will he be exalted, that he 
may have mercy upon you. Isa. xlviii. 
0. For my name's sake will I defer 
mine anger, and for my praise will I 
refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. 
Isa. Ix. 10. In my wrath I smote thee, 
but in my favour have I had mercy on 
thee. Jer. xxxi. 20. My bowels are 
troubled for him, I will surely have 
mercy upon him. Hos. ii. 23. I will 
sow her unto me in the earth, and I will 
have mercy upon her that hath not ob^ 
tained mercy. Hos. xL 8. How shall I 
give thee up Ephraim? How shall I 
deliver thes Israel ? How shall I make 



80 



thee as Admah ? How shall I set thee 
as Zeboiin? Mine heart is turned with- 
in me, my repen tings are kindled to- 
gether. Ver. 9. I will not execute the 
fierceness of my anger, I will not re- 
turn to destroy Ephraim. Exod. xxxiii. 
19. I will make all my goodness pass 
before thee, and I will proclaim the 
name of the Lord before thee, and will 
be gracious to whom I will be gracious, 
and will shew mercy on whom I will 
shew mercy. Job xi. 6. God exacteth 
of thee less than thine iniquity deserv- 
eth. Dent xxxiii. 37. The eternal 
God is thy refuge, and underneath are 
the everlasting arms : and he shall 
thrust out the enemy from before thee, 
and shall say, Destroy them. Ver. 29. 
Happy art thou, O Israel ! Who is like 
unto thee, O people saved by the Lord, 
the shield of thy help, and who is the 
sword of thy excellency! and thine 
enemies shall be found liars unto thee, 
and thou shalt tread upon their high 
places. Ps. xlvi. 11. The God of 
Jacob is our refuge. Selalu Ps. xh 
lu. Thou art my help m& my deliverer,. 



81 



make no tarrying, O my God. Is. xlu 

10. I will strengthen thee, yea, I will 
help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with 
the right hand of my righteousness. 
Ver. 13. I the Lord thy God will hold 
thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear 
not, I will help thee. Ver. 14. Fear 
not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of 
Israel : I will help thee, saith the Lord, 
and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of 
Israel. Hos. xiii. 9. O Israel, thou 
hast destroyed thyself: but in me is 
thy help. Rom. viii. 31. If God be 
for us, who can be against us ? Heb. 
xiii. 6. We may boldly say, the Lord 
is my helper, and I will not fear what 
man shall do unto me. Dent, xxxii. 

11. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, 
fluttereth over her young, spreadeth 
abroad her wings, taketh them, and 
beareth them on her wings ; Ver. IS. 
So the Lord alone did lead him ; and 
there was no strange God with him. 
Ps. xxxiii. 18. The eye of the Lord 
is upon them that fear him. Upon 
them that hope in his mercy. Is. xlvi. 
3. Hearkpn unto me, O house of Jacob, 



82 



and all the remnant of the house of 
Israel, which are born by me from the 
belly, which are carried from the womb. 
Ver. 4. And even to your old age 1 am 
he, and even to hoary hairs will I carry 
you : I have made, and I will bear ; 
even I will carry and deliver you. Is. 
Ixiii. 9. In all their affliction he was 
afflicted, and the angel of his presence 
saved them : in his love and in his pity 
he redeemed them, and he bare them, 
and he carried them all the days of old. 
Zech. ii. 8. He that toucheth you, 
toucheth the apple of his eye. 1 Pet. 
v. 7; Casting all your care upon him, 
for he careth for you. Mat. x. 30. 
The very hairs of your head are all 
numbered. Luke xxi. 18. There shall 
not an hair of your head perish. Lev. 
xxvi. 11. I will set my tabernacle 
amongst you: and my soul shall not 
abhor you. Ps. ix. 10. Thou, Lord, 
hast not forsaken them that seek thee. 
Ps. xxxvii. 28. The Lord forsaketh 
not his saints ; they are preserved for 
ever. Ps. xciv. 14. The Lord will 
not cast oil* his people, neither will he 



83 



forsake his inheritance. Is. xli. 9- 
Thou art my servant, I have chosen 
thee, and not cast thee away. Is. xlii. 
16. These things will I do unto them, 
and not forsake them. Is. xlix. 14. 
Zion said, the Lord hath forsaken me, 
and my Lord hath forgotten me. Ver. 
15. Can a woman forget her sucking 
child, that she should not have com- 
passion on the son of her womb ? Yea^ 
they may forget, but I will not forget 
thee. Ver. 16. Behold I have graven 
thee upon the palms of my hands, thy 
walls are continually before me. Is. xliy. 
21. O Israel, thou shalt not be forgot- 
ten of me. Is. liv. 9. As I have sworn that 
that the waters of Noah should no more 
go over the earth, so have I sworn that 
I would no more be wroth with thee, 
nor rebuke thee. Ver. 10. For the 
mountains shall depart, and the hills 
be removed, but my kindness shall not 
depart from thee, neither shall the co- 
venant of my peace be removed, saith 
the Lord that hath mercy on thee. Jer. 
xxxii. 40. I will make an everlasting 
covenant with them, that I will not turn 



away from them to do them good ; but 
I will put my fear in their hearts, that 
they shall not depart from me. Lam. 
iii. 31. The Lord will not east off for 
ever. Ver. 33. But though he cause 
grief, yet will he have compassion, ac- 
cording to the multitude of his mercies. 
Heb. xiii. 5. I will never leave thee, 
nor forsake thee. 

MEDITATION. 

Should Ave not believe and rely upon 
the faithful promises of Jehovah, and 
receive comfort therefrom, seeing our 
life here is a moment, and yet in this 
awful moment, we sow the seed of 
eternal life or death, happiness or mi- 
sery ; O then may I let nothing appear 
insignificant that I do this short mo- 
ment, seeing it has a reference to so 
important an event. If Satan stands 
before me, and tempts me to sin ; O 
that I may view death on my left side, 
and Christ on my right, before 1 listen 
to his alluring voice ; by this means, I 
will live, as I wish to die. Should he 
tempt to the love of pleasure? Tell 



83 



him every earlbly pleasure conceals an 
evil snare. Is it honour he bails his 
hook with ? I will tell him that earthly 
honour is poor satisfaction when I am 
poisoned with its sting. Should he pre- 
sent riches to my view, I will tell him 
at best they are only transitory, and oft 
times take wings to themselves and fly 
away, and false friends and flatterers, 
with thepi. 

*« For what is friendship but a name, 

A charm that lulls to sleep, 
A shade that follows wealth or fame, 

But leaves the wretch to weep." 

Should you wish to make to your- 
selves friends of the mammon of un- 
righteousness, ye sons of wealth, make 
your deposits in the bank of heaven, 
viz. the bosom of the virtuous poor. 
In this bank you gain instead of six 
per cent, one hundred per cent. ; and 
no fire can burn it, no thief can pick 
its locks, and no change can depreciate 
its value. Riches misused, and mise- 
ry with the abuse of them, are insepa- 
rable companions. Wealth here, is 
mostly followed by mourning hereafter. 



H 



88 



He who swims in riches, if unimproved, 
may expect to sink in misery. He who 
fares sumptuously with Dives on earth, 
may expect to open his eyes with Dives 
in hell. Shun these golden sorrows, 
then, O my soul, with religious fear : 
what are superb palaces, or diamond 
chains, if my soul is imprisoned therein, 
and manacled therewith. Every thing 
either delectable, or desirable to be 
found on earth in appearance, is in 
reality centered in God, and to be found 
abundant in Christ. Taste therefore, 
and see how sweet the Lord is, to them 
that love him in deed, and in .truth. 

PSALM XXXVII. 

Why should I vex my soul, and fret* 

To see the wicked rise ; 
Of envy sinners, waxing great, 

By violence and lies ? 

As flow'ry grass, cut down at noon, 

Before the ev'ning fades, 
So shall their glories vanish soon 

In everlasting shades. 

Then let me make the Lord my trust, 

And practice all that's good : 
So shall I dwell among the just, 

And he'll provide me food. 



87 

1 co my God my ways commit, 

And cheerful wait his will ; 
Thy hand which guides my doubtful &ci, 

Shall my desires fulfil. 

Mine innocence shalt thou display, 
And make thy judgments known, 

Fair as the light of dawning day, 
And glorious as the noon. 

The meek, at last, the earth possess, 

And are the heirs of heav'n; 
True riches, with abundant peace, 
To humble souls are gi\ r, n. 

Rest in the Lord, arid keep his way, 

Nor let your anger rise ; 
Though Providence should long delay 

To punish haughty vice. 

Let sinners join to break your peace, 
And plot and rage and foam ; 
The Lord derides them, for he sees 
Their day of vengeance come. 

They have drawn out the threat'ning s\yord, 

Have bent the murd'rous bow, 
To slay the men that fear the Lord, 

And bring the righteous low. 

My God shall break their bows, and burn 

Their persecuting darts; 
Shall their own swords against them turn, 

And pierce their stubborn hearts. 

SECTION X. 

'TJie good man's guide, from present 
grief to future glory. 
The greatest of all blessings the 
Almighty here promises; namely: the 



88 



light of liis holy spirit, to guide us out 
of this world of misery, to the mansions 
of eternal blessedness. 

Prov. i. S3. Behold, I will pour out 
my Spirit unto you, I will make known 
my words unto you. Is. xxxii. 15. 
Until the Spirit be poured upon us from 
on high, and the wilderness be a fruit- 
ful field. Is. lix. 21. This is my cove- 
nant with them, saith the Lord, My 
Spirit that is upon thee, and my words 
which I have put in thy mouth, shall 
not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of 
the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the 
mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, 
from henceforth and for ever. ICzek. 
xxxvi. 27. And I will put my Spirit 
within you, and cause you to walk in 
my statutes, and ye shall keep my judg- 
ments, and do them. Luke xi. 13. If 
ye then, being evil, know how to give 
good gifts unto your children, how much 
more shall your heavenly Father give 
the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? 
John iv. 10. Jesus answered and said 
unto her, If thou knewest the gift of 



89 

God, and who it is that saith to thee, 
Give me to drink, thou wouldest have 
asked of him, and he would have given 
thee living water. Ver. 14. Whoso- 
ever drinkcth of the water that I shall 
give bim, shall never thirst; but the 
water that I shall give him, shall be in 
jhim a well of water springing up into 
everlasting life. John vii. 38. He that 
believeth on me, as the scripture hath 
said, out of his belly shall flow rivers 
of living water. Ver. 39. But this 
spake he of the Spirit, which they that 
believe on him should receive. John 
xiv. 16. I will pray the Father, and he 
shall give you another Comforter, that 
be may abide with you for ever. Ver. 
17. Even the Spirit of Truth, whom the 
world cannot receive, because it seetk 
him not, neither knoweth him : but ye 
know him, for he dvvelleth with you, 
and shall be in you, Gal. iii. 14. That 
we might receive the promise of the 
Spirit through faith. 2 Tim. i. 14. 
The Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. 
1 Cor. ii. 12. Now we have received 
not the spirit of the world, but the Spi- 



rit which is of God, that we might 
know the things that are freely giveft 
to us of God. Luke xii. 12. The Holy 
Ghost shall teach you, in the same 
hour, what you ought to say. 1 Cor. 
ii. 10. God hath revealed them to us by 
his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all 
things, yea, the deep things of God, 
John xvi. 13. When he, the Spirit of 
Truth, is come, he will guide you into 
all truth. lJohn ii. 27. But the anoint 
ing which ye have received of him, 
abideth in you : and ye need not that 
any man teach you : but as the same 
anointing teaeheth you of all things, 
and is truth, and is no lie, and even as 
it hath taught you, ye shall abide in 
him. S Cor. i. 22. Who hath also 
sealed us, and given the earnest of the 
Spirit in our hearts. 2 Cor. v. 5. Now 
he that hath wrought us for the self- 
same thing is God, who also hath given 
us the earnest of the Spirit. Eph. i. 
13. After that ye believed, ye were 
sealed with that Holy Spirit of pro- 
mise. Ver. 14. Which is the earnest 
of our inheritance, until the redemption 



91 

of tie purchased possession, unto the 
praie of his glory. Eph. iv. 30. 
Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, 
Thereby ye are sealed unto the day of 
redemption. Rom. v. 5. And hope 
niketh not ashamed, because the love 
oiGod is shed abroad in our hearts by 
thfe Holy Ghost, which is given unto 
us John xiv. 16. He shall give you 
another Comforter, that he may abide 
with you for ever. Ver. 18. I will not 
leave you comfortless, I will come to 
you. Acts ix. 81. Then had the 
churches rest throughout all Judea, 
and Galilee, and Samaria, and were 
edified ; and walking in the fear of the 
Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy 
Ghost, were multiplied. 

MEDITATION. 

The gracious Creator has promised 
to give the gift of the holy Spirit, to 
guide us safe out of this vale of woe ; 
yet many follow Christ now as in an- 
cient times, for the loaves and fishes, 
but few for his own intrinsic excel- 
lence, or for the holy Spirit of his grace* 



93 

Hence I have often thought, if thejde- 
vil was dead, and hell was quencled, 
there would be little of the love of m& 
in the world. Christ my precious jfe- 
deemer should be loved more than lite, 
and be dearer than even salvation. 
Was there no heaven to entertain ne, 
nor celestial robes to adorn me, ;et 
God should be admired and loved n- 
dependent and exclusive of all these 
things. But who is it that possesses 
and manifests this sincere and unadul- 
terated affection ? Alas ! the number is 
very few. Surely that love is mercenary 
that embraces Christ only for the sake 
of recompense. That woman who finds 
out that her husband married her only 
for the sake of her money, must surely 
despise him. And that young man who 
ascertains that his lover thinks more of 
the diamond ring he presents as a token 
of his love, than she does of himself, 
must turn with disgust from such de- 
testable selfishness : and will God be 
less wise, less judicious? He is delicate 
in love, and cannot endure a divided 
heart 5 and can with the greatest facility 



OS 



discriminate between supreme and su- 
perficial attachment. O that I could 
see him as he is in all his super-celes- 
tial beauty ; that I might love him as he 
deserves, with super-eminent affection ! 
O that I could love thee more for thy- 
self, than for all thy gifts, however 
valuable ! 

psalm xci. 

He that hath made his refuge God, 
Shall find a most secure abode ; 
Shall walk all day beneath his shade, 
And there at night shall rest his head. 

Then will I say, * My God, thy power 
' Shall be my fortress and my tow'r ; 

• I, that am form'd of feeble dust, 

* Make thine Almighty arm my trust.' 

Thrice happy man ! thy Makers care 
Shall keep thee from the fowler's snare ; 
From Satan's wiles, who still betrays 
Unguarded souls a thousand ways. 

Just as a hen protects her brood 
From birds of prey that seek their blood, 
The Lord his faithful saints shall guard, 
And endless life be their reward. 

If burning beams of noon conspire 
To dart a pestilential fire, 
God ii their life, his wings are spread 
To shield them with a healthful shade. 

If vapours with malignant breath 
Rise thick, and scatter midnight death, 



94 

Israel is safe ; the poison'd air 
Grows pure, if Israel's God be there. 

What, though a thousand at thy side, 
Around thy path ten thousand died, 
Thy God his chosen people saves 
Amongst the dead, amidst the graves. 

So, when he sent his angel down 
To make his wrath in Egypt known, 
And slew their sons, his careful eyej 
Past all the doors of Jacob by. 

But, if the fire, or plague, or sword, 
Receive commission from the Lord 
To strike his saints, among the rest, 
Their very pains and deaths are blest. 

The sword, the pestilence, or fire* 
Shall but fulfil their best desire ; 
From sins and sorrows set them free. 
And bring thy children, Lord, to thee« 



SECTION XI. 

Tfie poor man's wealth secured in the 
bank of heaven. 
Ye who are poor and helpless in 
this world, remember Christ was also 
poor, and suffers you to be so, only to 
prevail upon you to seek the riches of 
his grace and glory. Ye are precious in 
his sight. To you the gospel is preach- 
ed, and for you these promises were 



95 



made : therefore read them to your 
comfort 

Ps. ix. 18. The needy shall not al- 
ways be forgotten ; the expectation of 
the poor shall not perish forever. Ps. 
Ixviii. 10. Thou, God, hast prepa- 
red of thy goodness for the poor. Ps. 
Ixix. 83. The Lord heareth the poor. 
Ps. cxxxii. 15. I will satisfy her poor 
with bread. Is. xiv. 30. The first-born 
of the poor shall feed : and the needy 
shall lie down in safety. Ps. IxxiL 2. 
He shall judge thy people with right- 
eousness, and thy poor with judgment. 
Ver. i%. He shall deliver the needy 
when lie crieth ; the poor also, and him 
that hath no helper. Ver. 13. He shall 
spare the poor and needy, and shall 
save the souls of the needy. Ps. cii. 
|iy. He will regard the prayer of the 
destitute, and not despise their prayer. 
Ps. cvii. 41. He setteth the poor on 
high from affliction, and maketh him 
families like a flock. Ps. cxiii. 7- He 
raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and 
lifteth the needy out of the dunghill. 



96 

Jer. xx, 13. Sing unto the Lord, praise 
ye the Lord, for he hath delivered the 
soul of the poor from the hand of evil- 
doers. Job v. 15. He saveth the poor 
from the sword, from their mouth and 
from the band of the mighty. Ver. 16. 
So the poor hath hope, and iniquity 
stoppeth her mouth. Job xxxvi. 15. 
He delivereth the poor in his affliction, 
and openeth their ears in oppression. 
Jam. i. 9. Let the brother of low de- 
gree rejoice, in that he is exalted. 
Jam. ii. 5. Hearken my beloved breth- 
ren, hath not God chosen the poor of 
this world, rich in faith, and heirs of 
the kingdom, which he hath promised 
to them that love him? Luke xvi. 25. 
Abraham said, Son, remember, thou in 
thy life- time receivedst thy good things, 
and likewise Lazarus evil things ; but 
now he is comforted, and thou art tor- 
mented. 

MEDITATION. 

Fear riot, O reader, although pover- 
ty should assail and dangers should 
affright you. Although losses, crosses 



97 

and afflictions should accumulate, fear 
not, if Christ is in your heart, by a liv- 
ing, loving faith. He can in a mo- 
ment still the wild winds and calm the 
roaring seas, with the same facility he 
hushed the tempest, when he was in 
the vessel at sea with his disciples. 
But if the storms of sorrow continue to 
rage, awake thy pilot ; be instant in 
prayer ; for heaven permits it to be so, 
that your deliverance may be by faith, 
that it may be stronger, and thy love 
for the Saviour greater. Be therefore 
of good courage, if you have Christ as 
your pilot on the stormy ocean; you 
will find he will safely bring your little 
bark into the haven of eternal repose. 
The narrow road to heaven is paved 
with afflictions, temptations and tribu- 
lations, and hedged in with briars, 
thorns and precipices ; while the broad 
road to hell is spread with flowers, car- 
peted with roses, and environed with 
all the varieties and delicacies of life. 
Here the deviPs livery servants, alias 
hypocrites, are to be seen, as well as 
his boldest champions* 



98 

In the final day of retribution, how 
great will their surprise be, when they 
hear, l < Depart from me, ye workers of 
iniquity, I never knew you !" What, 
never knew us, who cast out devils in 
thy name, and did many wonderful 
works for thee ? Have we not preach- 
ed thy word, received thy sacraments, 
relieved thy members, prayed with the 
poor and comforted the sick ? But what 
are all these outward shews and spe- 
cious works to me, unless they spring 
from true love ? the blessed Judge will 
answer. The smallest thing done for 
me, even a drink of cold water, if done 
with sincerity, shall be highly esteem- 
ed, while the greatest offerings and sa- 
crifices, done out of formality and 
Pharisaical views, shall all prove abor- 
tive. Love, pure and unadulterated, 
must be the main spring of motion, or 
all the apparatus of the machine will 
be out of order. A true, faithful saint, 
loves God for what he is in himself, as 
well as what he does in him. Such a 
one seeks no other heaven but the friend- 
ship of God, and dreads no other hell 



09 

but his absence. Such a soul, although 
he has the most correct information of 
the amazing magnitude of the works of 
creation, and the universality of re- 
demption ; although he sees in every 
fixed star a sun, the centre of a system 
as magnificent and extensive as our so- 
lar system with its revolving planets ; 
yet the whole he considers diminutive, 
and all the beauty thereof deformity, 
when compared to his good God. The 
songs of angels are harsh discord, when 
compared to the music of his voice. 
How can we form any correct idea of 
that God, whom the heaven of heavens 
cannot contain? What is the sun but 
darkness, when compared to the celestial 
brilliancy of his smiling countenance? 
which gilds the corn, paints the flowers, 
animates the animal, and exhilarates 
the feathered tribe; in one word, which 
puts life, light and beauty upon the face 
of the whole creation, and diffuses 
righteousness, peace and joy into the 
ir, loving children of grace. Who 
dare deny, that the beauty and intelli- 
gence of angels and men are only sparks 



100 

emitted from the sovereign Beauty ami 
Intelligence ? or rather shadows illumi- 
nated by the Sun that enlightens all 
suns. They are merely drops of the 
ocean of his fulness, and beams of his 
celestial brightness. If the good and 
gracious Creator has bestowed upon 
me that intelligence, by which I may 
ascertain the magnitude and periodical 
revolutions of the planets, as well as 
their centripetal and centrifugal forces, 
comprehended in the laws of gravity : 
if, I say, this light shining in my pri- 
son of clay, capacitates me to see so 
much of the greatness, goodness, glory 
and power of God, what must that su- 
perior and super-eminent light enable 
me to see, when shining into the palace 
of God, if I am so happy as to find my 
residence there after death. 
psalm civ. 

My soul, thy great Great or f>raise ; 
When cloth'd in his celestial rays, 
He in full majesty appears, 
And like a robe his glory weart. 

The heav'ns are for his curtains spread; 
Th' unfathom'd deep he maKes his bed ? 
Clouds are his chari't, when he flies 
On winged storms across the skies. 



101 

Angels, whom his own breath inspires, 
His ministers, are flaming fires ; 
And, swift as thought, their armies move 
To bear his vengeance or his love. 

The world's foundation by his hand 
Is pois'd, and shall forever stand : 
He binds the ocean in his chain, 
Lest it should drown the earth again. 
When earth was covered with the flood, 
Which high above the mountains stood, 
He thunder'd, and the ocean fled, 
Confin'd to its appointed bed. 

The swelling billows know their bound, 
And in their channels walk their round ; 
Yet thence conveyed by secret veins, 
They spring on hills and drench the plains... 

He bids the crystal fountains flew, 
And cheer the vallies as they go ; 
There gentle herds their thirst .Hay, 
And for the stream wild asses bray. 

1- rom pleasant trees which shade the brink, 
The lark and linnet light to drink : 
Their songs the lark and linnet raise, 
And chide our silence in his praise. 

God. from his cloudy cistern, pours 
On the parch 'd earth enriching show'rs: 
The grove, the garden, and the field, 
A thousand joyful blessings yield. 

He makes the grassy food arise. 
And gives the cattle large supplies ; 
With herbs for man of various pow'r, 
To nourish nature, or to cure. 

What noble fruit the vines produce I 
The olive yields a pleasing juice ; 



103 

Our hearts are cheer'd with gen'rous wine, 
His gifts proclaim his love divine. 

His bounteous hands our table spread, 
He fills our cheerful stares with bread ; 
While food our vital strength imparts, 
Let daily praise inspire our hearts. 

Behold the stately cedar stands 
Rais'd in the forest by his hands; 
Birds to the boughs for shelter fly, 
And build their nests secure on high. 

To craggy hills ascends the goat ; 
And at the airy mountain's foot 
The feeble creatures make their cell ; 
He gives them wisdom where to dwell. 

He sets the sun his circling race, 
Appoints the moon to change her face ; 
And when thick darkness veils the day, 
Calls out wild beasts to hunt their prey. 

Fierce lions lead their young abroad, 
And roaring, ask their meat from God ; 
But when the morning beams arise, 
The savage beast to covert flies. 

Then man to daily labour goes ; 
The night was made for his repose : 
Sweet is tky gift, that sweet relief 
From tiresome toil and wasting grief. 

How strange thy works ! how great thy skill j 
While ev'ry land thy riches fill : 
Thy wisdom round the world we see, 
This spacious earth is full of thee. 

Nor less thy glories in the deep, 
Where ftsh in millions swim and creep, 



108 

With wondrous motions, swift or slow, 
Still wandering in the paths below. 

There ships divide their wat'ry way, 
And flocks of scaly monsters play ; 
The huge leviathan resides, 
And fearless sports amid the tides. 

Vast are thy works almighty Lord, 
All nature rests upon thy word ; 
And the whole race of creatures stands, 
Waiting their portion from thy hands. 

While each receives his difPrent food, 
Their cheerful looks pronounce it good : 
Eagles and bears, and whales and worms, 
Rejoice and praise in dift'rent forms. 

But when thy face is hid, they mourn, 
And. dying, to their dust return : 
Both man and beast their soul resign ; 
Life, breath, and spirit, all are thine. 

Yet thou cans'- breathe on dust again, 
And fill the world with beasts and men ; 
A word of thy creating breath, 
Repairs the wastes of time and death. 

His works, the wonders of his might, 
Arehonour'd with his own delight, 
How awful are his glorious ways ! 
The Lord is dreadful in his praise. 

The earth stands trembling at thy stoke, 
And at thy touch the mountains smoke ; 
Yet humble souls may see thy face, 
And tell their wants to sov'reign grace. 

In thee my hopes and wishes meet, 
And make my meditations sweet ; 
Thy praises shall my breath employ, 
Till it expire in endless joy. 



104 

While haughty sinners die accurst* 
Their glory bury'd with the dust, 
I to my God, my heav'nly King, 
Immortal hallelujahs sing. 



SECTION XII. 

The widows* refuge and the orphans- 
rest is this faithfulness of God. 

Let the fatherless and widows re- 
member for their comfort, that although 
they are desolate in this world, they 
have a sure friend in the Father of the 
faithful : jand although they are neglect- 
ed and slighted by many professors of 
religion, who are notwithstanding con- 
stant attenders of religious meetings, 
yet God assures them by these promise's, 
that he will not forget them. 

Exod. xxi. 22. Ye shall not afflict 
any widow, or fatherless child. Ver. 
2S. If thou afflict them in any wise, 
and they cry at all unto me, I will 
surely hear their cry. Ver. 24. And 
my wrath shall wax hot, and I will 
kill you with the sword ; and your wives 
-shall be widows, aud your children fa- 



105 

therless. Vent. x. 18. He doth exe- 
cute the judgment of the fatherless 
and the widow. Ps. x. 14. The poor 
committeth himself unto thee : thou art 
the helper of the fatherless. Ver. 18. 
To judge the fatherless and the oppres- 
sed, that the man of the earth may no 
more, oppress. Ps. lxviii. 5. A father 
of the fatherless, and a Judge of the 
widows, is God in his holy habitation. 
Ps. exlvi. 9. He relieveth the father- 
less and widows. Prov. xv. 25. The 
Lord will destroy the house of the 
proud ; but he will establish the border 
of the widow. Prov. xx. iii. 10. lie- 
move not the old land mark : and en- 
ter not into the fields of the fatherless. 
Ver. 11. For their Redeemer is migh- 
ty; he shall plead their cause with thee. 
.for. xlix. 11. Leave thy fatherless chil- 
dren, 1 will preserve them alive : and 
let thy widows trust in me. JIos. xiv. 
3. In thee the fatherless lindeth mercy. 

MEDITATION. 

The Supreme Being has a tender re- 
gard for the sons and daughters of mis- 



fortune, but more particularly for the 
Innocent orphan and disconsolate wi- 
dow : for such our blessed Saviour has 
a peculiar predilection : to such he 
preached his gospel ; and such he piti- 
ed and relieved in the days of his hu- 
manity. In order to teach us by deeds 
that more than speak, to despise the 
riches of this world, and to embrace 
poverty with contentment and tran- 
quillity, he himself had not where to 
lay his head. Indeed, few of the chil- 
dren of misfortune were so poor as to 
this world as he was. Let us then, 
dear reader, endeavour to imitate him 
in his unliable perfections ; let us view 
in the gospel what he did, what he was, 
and how he conducted himself; and 
pray for grace, that we may be enabled 
to go and do likewise ; that his love 
may be. stamped upon our hearts, his 
meekness be observable in our actions, 
and his patience and resignation to the 
divine will be conspicuous in our life 
and death. 

O ask thy soul "for what end was 
man created?" and if it answers truly, 



107 

it will say, u To love God and man, and 
meditate upon heaven." And for what 
end was lie re-created or regenerated ? 
The answer is also ready, "To see 
God as he is, and enjoy him in his 
habitation of holiness!" Enoch walk- 
ed with God, so mayest thou. Moses 
heard the voice of God, so mayest thou 
hear the whispers of the divine spirit 
in thy heart. David in every emer- 
gency inquired of the Lord, and so 
shouldst thou ; for the Lord is the same 
God yesterday, to day and for ever. 
If you intend to get the victory over 
sin, you must do violence to the flesh, 
by a union and fellowship with Christ, 
and sacrifice every thing incompatible 
with his divine will. Our enemies arc 
mighty ; and none but an Almighty arm 
can enable us to prove victorious over 
them. They are principalities and 
powers which neither give a truce, nor 
cessation of hostilities : death can only 
part the combatants : such is their po- 
tency, policy, and perpetuity, that no- 
thing but divine wisdom can Qpnquor or 



108 

circumvent them. Then seeing that 
victory or slavery, the palm or the pri- 
son must be the event of the battle, let 
us fight valiantly the good fight of faith, 
and lay hold on eternal life ; because 
not to conquor is to be a prisoner ; not 
to enter heaven triumphant, is to sink 
Into hell vanquished. 

PSALM XLII. 

My spirit sinks within me, Lord ! 

But I will call thy name to mind, 
And times of past distress record, 

When I have found my God was kind. 

Huge troubles, with tumultous noise, 
Swell like a sea, and round me spread ; 

The rising waves drown all mj joys, 
And roil tremendous o'er my head. 

Yet will the Lord command his love, 
When I address his throne by day ; 

Nor in the night his grace remove ; 
The night shall hear me sing and pray, 

I'll cast myself before his feet, 

And say, « My God, my heav'nly rock • 

< Why doth thy love so long forget 

• The soul that groans beneath thy stroke P 

IM1 chide my heart that sinks so low; 

Why should my soul indulge her grief? 
Hope in the Lord, and praise him too : 

He is my rest, my sure relief. 



AQ9 

My God, my most exceeding joy, 

Thy light and truth shall guide me still 5 

Thy word shall my best thoughts employ, 
And lead me to thine heav'nly hill. 



SECTION XIII. 

T^lie blessedness of qffliction, when en- 
dured with patience and resignation. 

He that humbly submits to the rod 
of affliction, will find it mingled with 
honey, and a blessing in disguise. To 
stimulate, therefore, the child of afflie- 
tion to believe, that even " afflictions 
from God's gracious hand, are blessings 
in disguise," we subjoin the following 
precious promises. 

Deut. viii. 5. As a man chasteneth 
his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth 
thee. Job xxxvi. 8. And if they be. 
bound in fetters, and be holden in cords 
of affliction ; Ver. 9. Then he shewed 
them their work, and their transgres- 
sions, that they have exceeded. Ver. 
10. He openeth also their ear to disci- 
pline, and commandeth that they return 

K 



iiQ 

from iniquity. Job v. 17. Happy is the 
man whom God correcleth ; therefore 
despise not thou the chastening of the 
Almighty. Ver. 18. For he maketh 
sore, and bindeth up : he woundeth, 
and his hands make whole. Ps. xeiv. 
13. Blessed is the man whom thou chas- 
tenest, O Lord, and teachest him out 
of thy law. Ver. 13. That thou may- 
est give him rest from the days of ad- 
versity, until the pit be digged for the 
wicked. Ps. cxix. 67. Before I was 
afflicted, I went astray : but row have 
I kept thy word. Ver. 71- It is good 
for roe, that I have been afflicted ; that 
I might learn thy statutes. Ver. 75. 
I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are 
right, and that thou in faithfulness hast 
afflicted me. Prov. iii. 12. Whom the 
Lord loveth, he correcteth, even as a 
father the 9011 in whom he deligbteth. 
Is. i. 25. I will turn my hand upon 
thee, End purely purge away thy dross, 
and take away all thy tin. Is. xlviii. 
ib. Behold I have refined thee, but 
not with silver ; I have chosen thee in 
tke furnace of affliction, Hos. ii. 6. I 



Ill 

will hedge up thy way with thorns, and' 
make a wall, that she shall not find her 
paths. Ver. 7- And she shall follow 
after her lovers, but she shall not over- 
take them : and she shall seek them, 
hut shall not find them : then shall she 
say, I will go and return to my first 
husband, for then was it better with me 
than now. Rom. v. 3. We glory in 
tribulations also, knowing^that tribula- 
tion worketh patience, and patience ex- 
perience and experience hope. 1 Cor. 
xi. 32. When we are judged we are 
chastened of the Lord, that we should 
not be condemned with the world. S 
Cor. iv. 16. For which cause we faint 
not, but though our outward man pe- 
rish, yet the inward man is renewed 
day by day. Ver. 17. For our light 
affliction which is but for a moment, 
worketh for us a far more exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory. Phil. i. 10. 
I know that this shall turn to my salva- 
tion, through your prayer, and the sup- 
ply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Heb. 
xii. 6. Whom the Lord loveth, he 
chasteneth ; and scourgeth every son 



112 

whom he receiveth. Ver. y. If ye en- 
dure chastening, God dealeth with you 
as with sons : for what son is he whom 
the father chasteneth not ? Ver. 10. 
They verily, for a few days chastened 
us after their own pleasure 4 ; but he for 
our profit that we might be partakers 
of his holiness. Ver. 11. Now no 
chastening for the present seemeth to 
be joyous, 6ut grievous : nevertheless, 
&fterw ard it yieldeth the peaceable fruit 
of righteousness, unto them which are 
exercised thereby. Rev. iii. 9. As 
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. 
James i. 3. The trying of your faith 
worketh patience, Ver. 12. Blessed 
is the man that endureth temptation : 
for when he is tried, he shall receive 
the crown of life, which the Lord hath 
promised to them that love him. 1 Pet. 
i. 7- That the trial of your faith being 
much more precious than of gold that 
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, 
might be found unto praise, and honour, 
and glory, at the appearing of Jesus 
Christ. Ban. xi. 35. Some of them 
of understanding shall fall, to try them, 



118 

and to purge, and to make them white, 
even to the time of the end. Dan. xiL 
10. Many shall be purified, and made 
white, and tried. Zech. xiii. 9. I 
will bring the third part through the 
fire, and will refine them as silver is re- 
fined, and will try them as gold is tried : 
they shall call on my name, and I will 
hear them : I will say, It is my people : 
and they shall say, the Lord is my 
God. 

MEDITATION. 

Blessed are they who are chastened 
by the Lord, that they may thereby 
know the vanity of what this world 
calls good and great, to wit : Riches, 
honours, sceptres, crowns, and what is 
held in contempt by it, viz. the un- 
searchable riches of Christ. He is the 
pearl of great price, with whom we are 
happy on a dunghill, clothed with rags ; 
but without whom we are undone and 
miserable, though hung in jewels and 
seated in a palace of ivory. Ye sons 
and daughters of affliction, submit to his 
salutary reproof and thastisemenV 

K % 



114 

that you may discover the excellency 
of the truth as it is in our precious Je- 
sus ; blessed be his holy name ! When 
you have made this discovery you will 
be rich indeed ; because, "He that hath 
the Son of God hath eternal life/' If 
you are not yet in Christ Jesus, as the 
branch in the vine, now this moment 
sell all, relinquish all the vain things 
that charm you most, that you may 
win Christ. If there is any thing on 
earth you desire in comparison of him, 
or will not forego for his sake, rest as- 
sured you are still ignorant of his in- 
trinsic value, of his infinite fulness, of 
his sovereign beauty, of his unspeak- 
able goodness, of his immutable truth, 
and consequently are unworthy of him. 
O my beloved reader, murmur and re- 
pine no more at the merciful dispensa- 
tions of heaven. Rest assured, there is 
no way of curing you of your attach- 
ment to this world, and the vanities 
thereof, but by the rod of affliction : 
therefore bear it with the patience you 
would manifest, on the amputation of 
one of your limbs by a kind compas- 



115 

sionate physician, in order to stop the 
rapid spread of a mortification over 
your whole system. You have ten 
thousand foes to conquor, and the devil 
is their general, and the love of the 
world his chief captain ; and " that 
false heart, the truth has said, it loves 
not God that loves the world." Hence 
the Captain of our salvation must use 
the rod of affliction, when he sees that 
you listen to the fatal overtures of this 
chief captain of Satan. The good Shep- 
herd is calling thee out of the wilder- 
ness into his fold and pastures : he is 
willing to feed and refresh thy soul 
with his grace: he is waiting to illumi- 
nate thy understanding, that thou may- 
est distinguish his voice from the voice 
of a hireling: he even calls thee by 
these precious promises and simple 
meditations, to follow him till he brings 
you to glory. Obey then, I beseech you, 
the voice that calls you to your own hap- 
piness, before it be eternally too late. 

PSALM CXIX. 

Father, I bless thy gentle hand; 
Hw kind was thy chastising rod, 



116 

That forc'd my conscience to a stand, 
And brought my wandering soul to God 

foolish and vain I went astray, 
Ere I had felt thy scourges, Lord, 

I left my guide, and lost my way ; 
But now I love and keep thy word. 

'Tis good for me to wear the yoke, 
For pride is apt to rise and swell ; 

'Tis good to bear my father's stroke, 
That I might learn his statutes welL 

The law that issues from thy mouth 
Shall raise thy cheerful passions more, 

Than all the treasures of the south, 
Or richest hills of golden ore. 

Thy hands have made my mortal frame, 
Thy spirit form'd my soul within : 

Teach me to know thy wondrous name, 
And guard me safe from death and sin. 

Then all that love and fear the Lord 

At my salvation shall rejoice; 
For I have trusted in thy word, 

And made thy grace my only choice. 



SECTION XIV. 

tin encouragement to rely on the Divine 
veracity for rest and refuge. 
God who has made, is faithful and 
true to perform these and his other 
gracious promises ; of which I have no 
more doubt than of jny existence. IJely 



117 

then ye miserable, upon his word, and 
ye do honour him. Doubt his pro- 
mises and impartiality, and you cannot 
dishonour him more, because you make 
him a liar. In order to remove every 
shadow of your doubts, he herein has 
promised to fulfil all his promises. 

Deut. vii. 9- Know, that the Lord 
thy God he is God, the faithful God, 
which keepeth covenant and mercy 
with them that love him, and keep his 
commandments, to a thousand genera- 
tions. Numb, xxiii. 19. God is not a 
man, that he should lie ; neither the son 
of man that he should repent. Hath 
he said, and shall he not do it : Or 
hath he spoken, and shall he not make 
it good ? Josh, xxiii. 14. Ye know in 
all your hearts, and in all your souls, 
that not one thing hath failed, of all the 
good things which the Lord your God 
spake concerning you : all are come to 
pass unto you, and not one thing hath 
failed thereof. 1 Kings viii. 56. Ps. 
xviii. 30. The word of the Lord is 
fried. Ps. Ixxxix. 84*. My covenant 



118 

will I not break, nor alter the thing 
that is gone out of my lips. Ps. cv. 8. 
He hath remembered his covenant for 
ever, the word which he commanded 
to a thousand generations. Ps. cxix. 
89. For ever, O Lord, thy word is 
settled in heaven. Ver. 90. Tby faith- 
fulness is unto all generations. Ver. 
160. Thy word is true from the begin- 
ning. Ps. cxlvi. 6. Which keepeth 
truth for ever. Is. xxv. 1. Thy coun- 
sels of old are faithfulness and truth. 
Is. xlvi. 11. I have spoken it, I will 
also bring it to pass : I have purposed 
it, I will also do it. Is. lv. 10. As the 
rain eometh down, and the snow from 
heaven, and returneth not thither, but 
watereth the earth, and maketh it bring 
forth and bud that it may give seed to 
the sower, and bread to the eater ; Ver. 
11. So shall my word be, that goeth 
forth out of my mouth : it shall not re- 
turn unto me void, but it shall accom- 
plish that which I please ; and it shall 
prosper in the thing whereunto I send 
it. Rom. xvi. 8. Jesus Christ was a 
minister of the circumcision for the 



119 

truth of God, to comfirm the promises 
made unto the fathers. % Cor. i. 20. 
All the promises of God in him 
\_Chrisf] are yea, and in him amen, 
unto the glory of God by us. 2 Tim. 
ii. 13. If we believe not, yet he abideth 
faithful j he cannot deny himself. 

MEDITATION. 

The precious promises of the Gospel 
to an unbelieving sinner, is the same as 
a wedge of gold laid in the street and 
covered with dirt, is to the traveller. 
But to those who are illuminated by 
the spirit of God, they are a cabinet 
of celestial jewels, and an invaluable 
treasure, no less than the earnest of 
everlasting glory. And nothing short 
of the spirit of Truth can convince the 
sinner, of the infinite value of these pro- 
mises of God. Yet, alas ! how often do 
we find our commentators, and salary 
ministers, directing their bearers and 
readers, to any thing, and every thing, 
rather than the light of the holy spirit, 
in their own hearts; that they might 
ascertain the intrinsic value of this 



120 

wedge of celestial gold, viz. the pre- 
cious promises of the scriptures of 
truth. 

My Christian reader, you surely can/ 
not suppose that Omnipotence can pos- 
sibly lie ; much less be guilty of per- 
jury. His word, and his oath, is then 
pledged for the fulfilment of his pro- 
mises. Therefore, the two immutable 
things, in which it is impossible for God 
to lie, should give you strong consola- 
tion. And the most effectual way to 
exalt the attributes of Jehovah, and pay 
him the highest homage, is to have an . 
unshaken confidence in his precious 
promises. I will tell you, dear reader, 
my simple experience, as the thought 
this very moment struck my mind ; that 
by relating briefly, humbly, and simply, 
,my present experience, it would, per- 
adventure, encourage some of my rea- 
ders, who may be ready to sink in 
despair, to trust in the living God, and 
believe against belief, and hope against 
hope, to the honour and glory of his 
holy name. When I was in a state of 
minority, perhaps when about twelve 



131 

years of age, I had the most earnest 
desire implanted in my heart to please 
God, and to promote his glory, and that 
desire has grown with my growth, and 
strengthened with my strength. I was 
greatly delighted, when I thought I 
pleased him, and grieved when I con- 
ceived I had offended him. I was truly 
a little bigotted Roman Catholic, and 
kept a book in which I entered my sins, 
that I might confess them with the more 
facility to my Father confessor. But, 
my mind being enlightened by the Spirit 
of Truth, to see the fallacy and futility 
of my professional belief, and juvenile 
bigotry, even before I arrived at the 
years of maturity. I consequently re- 
linquished both, for more liberal theo- 
logical opinions. What contributed 
greatly to remove the prejudice of my 
education, and juvenile prepossessions, 
was the cruelty and bigotry of my 
bigotted relatives. In short, I was for- 
saken at the tender age of sixteen, by 
them all, and had to seek my fortune 
without a dollar in my pocket, although 
my father was a man of property and 

L 



respectability, with the world before me 
and Providence my guide. It was then in 
a peculiar manner, that God took me into 
his particular care and protection, and 
graciously preserved me, and plentiful- 
ly supplied all my wants, while visiting 
jaations, kingdoms, cities, towns, and 
states in Europe, Africa, and America. 
Language fails me, in expressing the 
goodness of God to me in this interest- 
ing period of my life ; the following 
verse will give a glimpse of it : 

" To all my weak complaints and cries 

His mercy lent an ear; 
£re yet my feeble thoughts had learnj: 
To form themselves in pray'r." 

When in my eighteenth year, through 
grace, I was enabled to make a great 
sacrifice of interest to principle, in Ber- 
muda; and six years after I was called 
upon by conscience, to make a still 
greater sacrifice, to wit : a pecuniary 
-establishment in Antigua, by which I 
was in a fair way of becoming what 
the world calls " a gentleman;" and in 
making this sacrifice, I had to face a 
frowning world, without a .prospect, anfl 



exposed to ten thousand dangers, with- 
out an eye to pity or a hand to help 
me : and surrounded by a host of foes, 
with the devil at their head. Divine 
Providence directed my weary feet to 
this land of liberty. But, alas ! at the 
Capes of Delaware, the remains of my 
property was shipwrecked, except my 
clothes, and two watches, which were 
saved indeed, but to be purloined by one 
of the passengers in the vessel. These 
pecuniary losses were abundantly re- 
munerated by spiritual benedictions. 
Those losses, and consequent poverty, 
were necessary to eradicate from my de- 
praved heart, the pride I accumulated 
whilst a planter in the West Indies. I 
was poor, very poor, till providentially 
stimulated from a sense of duty, and the 
most benevolent motives, to take up my 
pen, in order to vindicate injured inno- 
cence, and advocate the rights of man : 
although I was so ignorant, that I did 
not know what a note of admiration, a 
note of interrogation, or quotation 
marks, or even a semicolon meant. I 
make this confession to the glory of 



124 

that God, who often makes use of the 
"weak things of this world to confound 
the wise , and the foolish things of this 
world, to confute the things which are 
mighty, that no man might glory in 
mqn 9 but that God might be all, in allP 
Notwithstanding my ignorance and in- 
ability at commencing author, yet my 
success through the blessing of Divine 
Providence has been astonishing- I 
have prodifced sixteen works, besides 
this one, in nine years, on different 
subjects, the majority of them between 
300 and 400 pages each; some of which 
have passed through different editions. 
There were three editions of my 
" Rights of God," containing 360 pages, 
put to press last year; in all 4000 copies. 
I mention these things to shew, that 
the Almighty can use the most con- 
temptible means to accomplish the most 
important ends; and also to have an 
opportunity to express my ardent and 
unfeigned gratitude, to my Almighty 
patron in particular, and my numerous 
patrons in the United States, in gene- 
ral; their patronage has raised me from 



l%0 

poverty, to plenty; from indigence, to 
competence; from dependance, to inde- 
pendance ; for which I hope, ever to 
he grateful. 

What is most remarkable in addition 
to my want of intelligence, and almost 
common sense, at my commencing au- 
thor, is the numerous impediments I 
met with, and the obstacles I had to 
surmount in preparing my works for 
the press; all of them, I can truly say, 
have been composed in great domestic 
confusion. I think I have been inter- 
rupted a thousand times, while pursu- 
ing my literary labours, for the benefit 
of mankind, even to the present day. 
My best study is my stable, and my 
endeavour to do good, appears to me 
like a man labouring to run a race with 
a fifty-six chained round his neck. 
Could the candid critic view my diffi- 
culties and impediments as they really 
are, no doubt he would make every al- 
lowance for local and literary imper- 
fections. But notwithstanding all these 
discouraging circumstances, I have 
no more doubt of the truth of the pro- 



125 

mises of scripture, than I have of my 
existence; and I have prayed to be de- 
livered from my calamity, and I firm- 
ly believe that God has heard, and. will 
answer my prayer: but even if I should 
not be delivered from it, yet will I not 
doubt the immutability of the Divine 
word, though it should pursue me to 
the very margin of the grave; with holy 
Job, " though he slay me, yet will I 
trust in him." Calamity, has been a 
great blessing to me, because it has 
weaned my heart from all created good; 
and the bigotry and illiberality of sec- 
tarians has cured me of my sectarian 
predelections, which precluded the 
light of divine truth from shining upon 
my mind, as more fully particularized 
in the u Apology for my religious sen- 
timents." The Almighty has always 
fulfilled his promises so obviously, as to 
make unbelief in me an unpardonable 
crime. Yet, alas ! about two years ago, 
by the oppression of sectarians combi- 
ned with my other calamities, I doubted, 
was darkened, murmured against the 
divine economy, and eventually fell from 



127 

my integrity- Therefore, dear reader, I 
beseech you to beware of " doubting 
castle/' or you will most assuredly be 
taken captive by " giant despair/' and 
experience the bitter agonies that I 
endured : 

«< O bow sore a thing and grievous, 

Is it from our God to run, 
When we cause our God to leave us, 

Wretched are we and undone. 5 ' 

Unbelief is ingratitude, and ingrati- 
tude is worse than the sin of witch- 
craft. O the * ; remembrance of my ingra- 
titude is grievous to me, a burthen in- 
tolerable to be borne/' yet even in my 
state of delinquency, my heart panted 
after the living God, and I longed 
above all things to serve him, and to 
promote his glory and the good of his 
creatures, while sin was a grievous 
burthen to me. But when I turned to 
the Lord with all my heart, and made 
a total and entire surrender of myself 
to God, and sacrificed all the vain things 
that charmed me most, with much fast- 
ing and prayer, then he restored to me 
his friendship, which I had forfeited, 



128 

and the joys of his salvation, which 1 
had rendered myself unworthy of hy 
my delinquency. In that sacred mo- 
ment, I promised for God, to live, and 
die, and to spend, and he spent, in his 
service. The language of my heart 
was : 

" Lord, and is thy anger gone, 

And art thou pacified, 
After all that I have done ; 

Dost thou no longer chide ? 

Infinite thy mercies are, 

Beneath the weight I cannot move ; 
O, then ! 'tis more than I can bear, 

The sense of pardoning love." 

Thus, my Christian reader, in me 
the most depraved and unworthy wretch, 
you see the truth of the divine promises 
exemplified; then doubt no more. For 
my part, I will never quit my hold of 
them, they are the sheet-anchor of my 
soul, and my glorious treasure. Yes, 
O, my King, I never will again forego 
my confidence in thy mercy, and com- 
passion. If the unjust judge was 
moved by the solicitude of the impor- 
tunate widow, how much more will in- 
finite compassion itself; be moved by 



the prayer of faith. Yes, I believe 
thou wilt remove the impediments that 
hinder me from promoting thy glory. 
And, 

" Then will I tell to sinners round, 
What a dear Saviour I have found ; 
I'll point to thy redeeming blood, 
And say, behold the way to God." 

Till that auspicious moment of my 
deliverance arrives, enable me humbly 
to hope, and patiently wait for the fulfil- 
ment of thy gracious promises, and the 
answer of my importunate prayers. 

PSALM LI. 

Lord, I am vile, conceiv'd in sin, 
And born unholy and unclean ; 
Sprung from the man, whose guilty fall 
Corrupts the race, and taints us all. 

Soon as we draw our infant breath, 
The seeds of sin grow up for death : 
Thy law demands a perfect heart ; 
But we're deiii'd in ev'ry part. 

[Great God, create my heart anew, 
And form my spirit pure and true ; 
O make me wise betimes, to spy 
My danger and my remedy.] 

Behold, I fall before thy face ; 

My only refuge is thy grace ; 

No outward forms can make me clean, 

The leprosy lies deep within. 



130 

No bleeding bird, nor bleeding beast, 
Nor hyssop branch, nor sprinkling priest. 
Nor running brook, nor flood, nor sea, 
Can wash the dismal stain away. 

Jesus, my God ! thy blood alone 
Hath pow'r sufficient to atone : 
Thy blood can make me white as snow; 
No Jewish types could cleanse me so. 

While guilt disturbs and breaks my peace* 
Nor flesh nor soul hath rest or ease : 
Lord, let me hear thy pard'ning voice, 
And make my broken heart rejoice- 



SECTION XV. 

PROCLAMATION OF JESUS CHRIST, BY THIS Gil ACE OP 

GOD KING OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, AND 1RUE 

DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. 

Justification offered to penitent Sin- 
ners. 

Ho, every one who has enlisted under 
the black flag of sin, and hell ; here is 
peace and pardon offered by the Prince 
of Peace, on the easy terms of ground- 
ing your arms and fighting against your 
legitimate sovereign no more, here is 
encouragement to desert from the army 
of Satan, and bounty to enlist in the 
army of King Jesus. 



Let not the magnitude of your cri- 
minality, hinder you from participating 
the universality of his clemency* 
u Tarry not till you are better, or you 
•will never come at all." Here follows 
the munificent proclamation of our so- 
vereign Lord the king ; stamped with 
the broad seal of heaven. Justification 
is offered freely and gratuitously, for the 
encouragement of the greatest rebels, 
and the vilest backsliders, and also a 
free pardon and reconciliation through 
Christ alone. 

Numb, xxiii. 21. He hath not beheld 
iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen 
perverseness in Israel. Is. xlv. 25. 
In the Lord shall all the seed of Is- 
rael be justified, and shall glory. Is. 
liii. 11. By his knowledge shall my 
righteous servant justify many : for he 
shall bear their iniquities. Ezek. 
xxxvi. 25. I will sprinkle clean water 
upon you, and ye shall be clean ; from 
all your filthiness, and from all your 
idols, will I cleanse you. Rom. iii. 24. 
Being justified freely by his grace, 
through the redemption that is in Jesus 



13B 

Christ. Mom. v. 1. Being justified by 
faith, we have peace with God, through 
our Lord Jesus Christ* Ver. 9. Being 
justified by his blood, we shall be saved 
from wrath through him. Ver. 18. By 
the righteousness of One, the free gift- 
came upon all men unto justification of 
life. Ver. 19. For by the obedience 
of One, shall many be made righteous. 
Rom. viii. 1. There is therefore now 
no condemnation to them which are in 
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the 
flesh, but after the" Spirit. Ver. 33- 
Who shall lay any thing to the charge 
qf God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 
Ver. 34. Who is he that condemneth? 
It is Christ that died ; yea, rather that 
is risen again, who is even at the right 
hand of God, who also maketh inter- 
cession for us. 2 Cor. v. 21. He hath 
made him to be sin for us, who knew 
no sin : that we might be made the 
righteousness of God in him. Acts. 
xiii. 39. By him all that believe are 
justified from all things, from which ye 
could not be justified by the law of 
Moses. Tit. iii. 7». That being justi- 



133 

fied by his grace, we should be made 
heirs according to the hope of eternal 
life. Ex. xxxiv. 7« Keeping mercy 
for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and 
transgression, and sin. Ps. Ixv. 3. As 
for our transgressions, thou shalt purge 
them away. Ps. ciii. 9. He will not 
always chide, neither will he keep his 
anger forever. Ver* 10. He hath not 
dealt with us after our sins, nor reward- 
ed us according to our iniquities. 

MEDITATION. 

O my soul, art thou enlisted into the 
grand army of the everlasting Father 
and the Prince of Peace? Art thou 
ingrafted as a branch into the vine 
Christ Jesus ? Art thou heaven bound 
and heaven born ? Art thou walking 
after the spirit, and not after the flesh ? 
Art thou obedient thereunto, from a 
principle of sincere love ? If so, the 
foregoing proclamation is not addressed 
to thee. But if thou hast never enlist^ 
ed into this blessed army of heaven, or 
deserted therefrom after enlistment, to 
you this proclamation is promulgated. 



134 

then be encouraged forthwith to en- 
ter as a volunteer or recruit, in the 
blessed service of the Captain of our 
salvation. Millions seek salvation by 
works, who at the same time profess to 
believe and obey the gospel : yet, alas ! 
the love and power of Christ does not 
constrain them to meditate and rely 
upon his death for life everlasting ; but 
their own workings and wisdom hin- 
der Christ from working in them and 
through them, of his own good plea- 
sure. No child of man can be a wil- 
ling recruit, much less a veteran in the 
army of Jesus, unless God first reveal 
his Son in him. And when this is the 
case, we have such a clear discovery 
of his celestial charms, sovereign beau- 
ty and infinite goodness ; so, that our 
hearts are delighted, enamoured and 
enraptured with him, not only for what 
he has done and will do for us, but par- 
ticularly for what he is in himself: 
hence we love him with the pure love 
of choice ; we cleave to him, we choose 
him as our Prophet, Priest and King. 
Without this divine revelation, though 
" we gave half our goods t© feed tfhe 



135 

poof, and our bodies to be burned," the 
sacrifice would be servile and unaccep- 
table : because all our offerings are no- 
thing to God, unless they spring from 
love. Nothing in short but a union, and 
fellowship with Christ, by a living, lov- 
ing faith, can make the soul happy, the 
conscience peaceful, and the life holy ; 
yet, alas ! millions of professors of 
Christianity, view the doctrine of the. 
in-dwelling of the Spirit of truth, as 
rank enthusiasm, and a thing impos- 
sible to be experienced in this world. 

PSALM LXXXIX. 

Hear what the Lord in vision said. 

And made his mercies known : 
4 Sinners, behold, your help is laid 

* On my almighty Son. 

' Behold the man my wisdom chose 
« Among your mortal race ; 

* His head my holy oil o'erflows, 

With full supplies of grace. 

4 High shall he reign on David's throne, 
« My people's better king: 

* My arm shall beat his rivals down, 

' And still new subjects bring. 

My truth shall guard him in his way, 
' With mercy by his side : 

* While, in my name, o'er earth and sea, 

i He shall in triumph ride* 



136 

« Me, for his Father and his God, 

* He shall forever own, 

6 Call me his rock, his high abode, 

' And I'll support my son. 
* My first-born Son, array'd in grace, 

' At my right-hand shall sit ; 
1 Beneath him angels know their place, 

* And monarchs at his feet. 

«My cov'nant stands forever fast, 

« My promises are strong ; 
f Firm as the heav'ns his throne shall last, 

* His seed endure as long.' 

SECTION XVI, 

The glorious privileges of the children 
of God. 
Ye who are true believers in Christ, 
and who are like him, poor, despised 
and persecuted in this delusive world, 
rejoice and be exceeding glad, when 
you read the following precious pro- 
mises of your adoption by faith in the 
Son of God, of your union with his 
true church,* and of your free access 

* When I speak of the true church, I mean all the 
true lovers of Jesus, and his disciples, in every nation 
and denomination in the whole world, pagan as well 
as Christian ; and not a building as superb as a pal- 
ace, with a pulpit elevated like a throne, surmounted 
with a golden eagle, and embellished with a proud, 
pedantic worm of the earth, called a Rev. or Right 



137 

to the holy of holies through the blood 
of sprinkling. While blessed with 
this hope, you should smile at toil and 
pains, and face a frowning world with 
undaunted courage. 

Jer. xxxi. 9. I am a Father to Israel, 
and Ephraim is my first-born. Is. Ixiii. 
16. Doubtless thou art our Father, 
though Abraham be ignorant of us, and 
Israel acknowledge us not ; Thou, O 
Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer ; 
thy name is from everlasting. Is. Ixiv. 
8. But now, O Lord, thou art our Fa- 
ther : We are the clay, and thou our 
potter ; and we all are the work of 
thine hand. Rom. viii. 14. As many 
as are led by the Spirit of God, they 
are the sons of God. Ver. 15. For ye 
have not received the spirit of bon- 
dage again to fear ; but ye have receiv- 
ed the spirit of adoption, whereby we 
cry, Abba Father. Rom. ix. 26. And 
it shall come to pass, that in the place 
where it was said unto them, Ye are 

Rev. Divine, arrayed in sacerdotal robes of silk and 
cambrick, and reading a dry sermon to a drowsy 
congregation of priest-ridden people. 
M 2 



138 

not my people, there shall they be cal- 
led the children of the liviug God. 2 
Cor. vi. 18. 1 will be a Father unto 
you, and ye shall be my sons and 
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 
Gal. iii. 26. Ye are all the children 
of (rod by faith in Christ Jesus. Gal. 
iv. 4. God sent forth his Son, Ver. 
5. To redeem them that were under 
the law, that we might receive the 
adoption of sons. Ver. J. Wherefore 
thou art no more a servant, but a son ; 
and if a son, then an heir of God 
through Christ. Eph. i. 5. Having 
predestinated us to the adoption of chil- 
dren by Jesus Christ to himself, ac- 
cording to the good pleasure of his will. 
Ver. 6. To the praise of the glory of 
his grace, wherein he hath made us ac- 
cepted through the Beloved. John i. 
12. As many as received him, to them 
gave he power to become the sons of 
God, even to them that believe on his 
name. 1 John iii. 2. Behold what 
manner of love hath the Father bestow- 
ed upon us, tljiat we should be called 
the sons of G<|d? Ver. %. Beloved, 
now are we the sons of God. 



139 

MEDITATION. 

Our glorious adoption is not purcha- 
sed by our own works, as millions very 
improperly suppose, but rather by the 
precious blood of Christ. Unless we 
are washed from our sins in this blood, 
and cleansed from our actual pollutions, 
by the in-dwelling of the holy Spirit, 
in vain do we expect that we are the 
adopted sons of God. Yes, my Chris- 
tian reader, we were not redeemed 
with corruptible things, like wealth, 
beauty, ornaments, duties, ceremonies 
or rites, but by the blood qf Christ, as 
of a lamb without blemish and without 
spot. A true believer has nothing to 
glory in but Christ. His most holy 
works he knows, needs the all-atoning 
blood of the covenant, to purify them ; 
but as his comfort is not in works, but 
precious Christ, he therefore finds his 
daily imperfections covered, and his 
infirmities not imputed to him, but to 
his expiatory sacrifice. Hence he is 
kept in constant peace, while the le- 
gal and pharisaical professor is like 



140 

the troubled sea, always throwing up 
mire and dirt. But not only in this 
life is the true believer disclaiming and 
abhorring all merit in himself, and giv- 
ing all the glory to his precious Re- 
deemer, but at the bar of God, he uses 
the same language of humility and 
self- abhorrence ; and will not acknow- 
ledge, much less plead his good works, 
although credited therewith by the 
Judge himself, in the register of eter- 
nity. Mat. 25 — 37 — 39. Because be- 
ing poor in spirit, they see nothing to 
be admired or desired in comparison of 
Christ. O thou good Shepherd, give 
us this blessed poverty of spirit, that 
we may see the vanity of supereroga- 
tory works, and trust in Christ, and 
rest wholly in him both in life and 
death. Amen. 

PSAI.M LXXI. 

My Saviour, my almighty Friend, 

When I begin thy praise. 
Where will the growing numbers end, 

The numbers of thy grace ? 

Thou art my everlasting trust* 

Thy goodness I adore : 
And since I knew thy graces first*, 

I spake thy glories ruore. 



141 

My feet shall travel all the length - 

Of the celestial road, 
And march with courage in thy strength; 

To see my Father, God. 

When I am filled with sore distress 

For some surprising sin, 
I'll plead thy perfect righteousness, 

And mention none but thine. 

How will my lips rejoice to tejii 

The victories of my king ! 
My soul redeemed from sin and hell, 

Shall thy salvation sing. 

[My tongue shall all the day proclaim 

My Saviour and my God ; 
His death has brought my soul to shame, 

And sav'd me by his blood 

Awake, awake my tuneful pow'rs ; 

With this d hghtful song 
I'll entertain the darkest hours, 

Nor think the season long.] 



SECTION XVII. 

Encouragement boldly to pray y and not 
to faint. 

You who stand in need of any good 
thing for this life, or that which is to 
come, be encouraged to come boldly to 
the throne of grace, and make your 
wants known to God. who giveth libe 



142 

rally, and upbraideth not. Pray in 
faith if you expect the blessing : and 
if a doubt should arise in your mind, 
read the subsequent promises over and 
over, as I have done, till all your 
doubts are eradicated by this blessed 
means, as mine have been. 

Job xxii. 87. Thou shalt make thy 
prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee. 
Ps. iv. 3. But know that the Lord hath 
set apart him that is godly for himself ; 
the Lord will hear, when I call unto 
him. Ps. xxxiv. 6. This poor man 
cried, and the Lord heard him, and 
saved him out of all his trouble. Ps. 
xxxiv. 15. Th<? eyes of the Lord are 
upon the righteous, and his ears are 
open unto their cry. Ver. 17- The 
righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, 
and delivereth them out of all their 
troubles. Ps. 1. 15. Call upon me in 
the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, 
and thou shalt glorify me. Ps. lxv. 
2. O thou that hearest prayer, unto 
thee shall all flesh come. Ps. xei. 15. 
He shall call upon me, and I will an- 



143 

swcr him. Ps. cxlv. 19. He will fulful 
the desire of them that fear him : He 
also will hear their cry, and will save 
them. Prov. xv. 29. The Lord is far 
from the wicked : But he heareth the 
prayer of the righteous. Isa. xxx. 19. 
He will be very gracious unto thee, at 
the voice of thy cry : When he shall 
hear it, he will answer thee. Isa. Iviii. 
9. Then shalt thou call, and the Lord 
shall answer : Thou shalt cry, and he 
shall say, Here I am. Is. lxv. 24. 
And it shall come to pass, that before 
they call, I will answer; and whilst 
they are yet speaking I will hear. Jer. 
xxix. 12. Then shall ye call upon me, 
and ye shall go and pray unto me, and 
I will hearken unto you. Zech. xiii. 
9. They shall call on my name, and 
I will hear them : I will say, It is my 
people : Aud they shall say, The Lord 
is my God. Mat. vii 7« Ask, and it 
shall be given you : Seek, and ye shall 
find : Knock, and it shall be opened 
unto you. Ver. 8. For every one that 
asketh, receiveth : And he that seek- 
eth, findeth : And te him that knocketh. 



144 

it shall be opened. Vei\ 11. If ye 
then, being evil, know how to give 
good gifts unto your children, how 
much more shall your Father which is 
in heaven give good things to them 
that ask him ? Mat. xxi. 22. And all 
things whatsoever ye shall ask in pray- 
er, believing, ye shall receive. 

MEDITATION. 

To pray and to say prayers are very 
different. Prayer is the language of 
the souL: saying prayers is the lan- 
guage of the body. One worships a 
Spirit in spirit and in truth : the other 
worships he knows not what. Many 
pray to God only in trouble* or danger. 
Woe be to them who are led by their 
salary ministers to believe, that religion 
consists exclusively in a system of 

* Many pray only to be delivered from trouble ; 
for my part, my primary prayer is to be delivered 
from sin. Although I am now wrapped up in a 
cloud of grief, a sick family, beside a child two or 
three years old, with a broken arm, whom I have 
often to attend, and who is this minute on my knee, 
held by one hand while I write these lines with th 
other ; yet do not pray so earnestly to be delivere 
from that as sin. 



'e 

i 



145 

morality ! Be assured by Christ aloii$, 
through the influence of the holy Spi- 
rit, is the love of God communicated 
to man ; and this spirit only can, by 
its operations on the heart, enable us 
to return acceptable thanksgiving and 
obedience to the Father. Wherefore, 
to deny the indwelling of Vhe Spirit, 
is to destroy the gcspel. This blessed 
gospel does not remove, but recom- 
mend good works ; and he who ne- 
glects them, has a false notion of it, 
and is running in the road to ruin. And 
it prohibits at the same time, that we 
should place the least reliance on our 
obedience to recommend us to the fa- 
vour of God; for this defeats the design 
of the gospel, and frustrates the grafie 
of God. ' 

PSALM LXV. 

The God of our solvation hears 
The groans of Zion, mix'd with tears ; 
Yet when he comes with kind designs, 
Through all the way his terror shine*. 

On him the race of man depends, 
Far as the earth's remotest ends, 
Where the Creator's name is known 
By nature's feeble light aiomr 



14G 

Sailors, that travel o'er the flood, 
Address their frighted sou is to God, 
When tempests rage and billows roar, 
At dreadful distance from the shore. 

He bids the noisy tempest cease ; 
He calms the raging crowd to peace, 
When a tumultous nation raves 
Wild as the winds, and loud as waves, 



SECTION XVIII. 

Grace to help in time of need. 

Ye who feel yourselves weak and 
depraved, come boldly to the throne of 
grace, and make your wants known to 
our compassionate High Priest. Grace 
in abundance, and without price, is 
herein promised, to suit the circum- 
stances and case of every child of man. 
Come! come! therefore, without delay, 
and receive from the plenitude of the 
divine goodness, grace to help in every 
time of need; particularly converting 
and sanctifying grace, repentance, and 
faith. 

Ps. Ixxxiv. 11. The Lord God is a 
sun and shield : The Lord will give 



147 

grace and glory : No good thing will 
lie withhold from them that walk up- 
rightly. John xvii. 17. Sanctify theni 
through thy truth : Thy word is truth. 
Vev. 19. And for their sakes I sancti- 
fy myself, that they also might be sanc- 
tified through the truth. Eph. ii. 10. We 
are his workmanship, created in Christ 
Jesus unto good works, which God hath 
before ordained, that Ave should walk 
in them. Phil. ii. 13. For it is God 
which worketh in you both to will and 
to do, of his good pleasure. Phil. iv. 
13. I can do all things through Christ, 
which strengthened me. 2 Cor. iii. 5. 
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, 
to think any thing as of ourselves ; but 
our sufficiency is of God. 2 Thess. ii 
13. We are bound to give thanks al- 
way to God for you, Brethren, beloved 
of the Lord, because God hath from the 
beginning chosen you to salvation, 
through sanctitication of the Spirit, and 
belief of the truth. Col. i. 12. Giving 
thanks unto the Father, which hath 
made us mete to be partakers of the in- 
heritance of the saints in light. Ver, 



148 

&&. Yet now hath he reconciled, in the 
body of his flesh through death, to pre- 
sent you holy and unblameable, and un- 
reproveable in his sight. 1 Thess. v. 23. 
And the very God of peace sanctify 
you wholly : and I pray God your 
whole spirit, and soul, and body, be 
preserved blameless, unto the coming 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Tit. ii. 14. 
Who gave himself for us, that he might 
redeem us from all iniquity, and puri- 
fy unto himself a peculiar people, zeal- 
ous of good works. Jer. xxxi. 33. This 
shall be the covenant that I will make 
with the house of Israel ; after those 
days, saith the Lord, I will put my law 
in their inward parts, and write it in 
their hearts ; and I will be their God, 
and they shall be my people. Jer. xxx. 
9. They shall serve the Lord their 
God, and David their king, whom I 
will raise up unto them. Luke i. 74. 
That he would grant unto us, that we 
being delivered out of the hands of our 
enemies, might serve him without fear. 
Ver. 75. In holiness and righteousness 
before him, all the days of our life. 



149 

1 Cor. vi. 11. And such were some of 
you : but ye are washed, but ye are 
sanctified, but ye are justified in the 
name of the Lord Jesus, and by the 
Spirit of our God. 2 Cor. iii. 18. But 
we all, with open face, beholding as in 
a glass the glory of the Lord, are 
changed into the same image, from glory 
to glory, even as by the Spirit of the 
Lord. 

MEDITATION. 

Grace may be compared to the wings 
of the soul, with which we intellectu- 
ally fly from earth to heaven, and tread 
the starry skies. How precious, there- 
fore, must the promises be, which 
guarantees to man this heavenly gift 1 
O how profitable and pleasurable is 
free grace, to those who look upon 
their very best performances by nature 
as sinful, and even our best obedience 
by grace as imperfect ! How amiable, 
therefore, must the doctrine of justifica- 
tion by faith be, to those who are tho- 
roughly convinced of their native 
weakness and wickedness ! How truly 

N 2 



15tf 

will a firm belief in these truths, make 
a man despise himself- and daily repent 
as in dust and ashes ; and account him- 
self an unprofitable servant, after^ he 
has dime all that is commanded him .! 
There is but one way to gain justifying 
as well as sanctifying grace ; and that 
is, by faith and' humble love. The 
Lord' is often and by various means, 
reflecting light, in order to convince the 
sinner of the necessity of this faith 
which works by love, and purifies the 
heart : to wit : by his Spirit, his Word, 
and Conscience, But few are willing 
to be illuminated thereby, because it is 
mortifying to the pride of the human 
heart/to receive salvation without giv- 
ing God something in return. How 
often does God knock at the door of the 
sinners heart ! but, alas ! the tumult of 
business, and the vicissitudes of folly, 
drown the voice of truth. If this is 
thy case, O reader, open thy heart this 
moment, that the King of glory may 
enter in. The Spirit is calling by 'his 
meditation, and perhaps this is the last- 
call. O let not this kind invitation 



151 

likewise be ia vain, least he swear in 
his wrath, you shall never enter into 
his rest. 

PSALM XXXII. 

Blest is the man, for ever bless'd, 
Whose guilt is pardon 'd by his God, 

Whose sins with sorrow are confess'd, 
And cover'd with his Saviour's blood. 

Before his judgment seat, the Lord 
No more permits his crimes to rise ; 

He pleads no merit of reward, 

Arid, not on works, but grace relies. 

From guile his heart and lips are free ; 

His humble joy, his holy fear. 
With deep repentance well agree, 

And join to prove his faith sincere. 

How glorious is that righteousness, 

That hides and cancels all our sins i 
While a bright evidence of grace, 
Thro' all his life appears and shines. 



SECTIOx\ T XIX. 

Grace victorious over sin and tempta- 
tion. 

To you who tremble at the prospect 
of the hosts of spiritual foes with which 
you arc surrounded, there is great en- 
couragement to return to the charge, 
for the Captain of our salvation leads 



152 

the van. Herein are golden promises 
of grace, to conquer the armies* of the 
world, the flesh, and the. devil. 

Has. xiv. 8. Ephraim shall say. 
What have I to do any more with idols ? 
Mom. vi. 6. Knowing this, that our 
man is crucified with him, that the body 
of sin might be destroyed, that hence- 
forth we should not serve sin. Ver. 14. 
Sin shall not have dominion over you ; 
for ye are not under the law, but under 
grace. Rom. vii. 24. O wretched man 
that I am, who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death ? Ver, 25. I 
thank God, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. So then with the mind I myself 
serve the law of God ; but with the flesh 
the law of sin. Rom. viii. 2. The law 
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, has 
made me free from the law of sin and 
death. Ver. 3. For what the law could 
not do, in that it was weak through the 
flesh, God sending his own Son, in the 
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin con- 
demned sin in the flesh. Ver. 4. That 
the righteousness of the law might be 



153 

fulfilled in us, who walk not after the 
flesh, but after the Spirit. Gal. v. 16. 
Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not 
fulfil the lusts of the flesh; John viii. 
33. Ye shall know the truth, and the 
truth shall make you free [t. e. from 
sin, v. 34.] John xv. 8. Every branch 
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it 
may bring forth more fruit. Rom. viii. 
37. In all these things we are more 
than conquerors, through him that loved 
us. 1 Cor. x. 13. God is faithful, who 
will not suffer you to be tempted above 
that ye are able; but will with the temp- 
tation also make a way to escape ; that 
ye may be able to bear it. 2 Cor. xii. 
9. My grace is sufficient for thee ; for 
my strength is made perfect in weak- 
ness. Heb. ii. 18. In that he himself 
has suffered, being tempted, he is able 
to succour them that are tempted. S3 
Pet. ii. 6. The Lord knoweth how to 
deliver the godly out of temptation. 
1 John iv. 4. Ye are of God, little chil- 
dren, and have overcome them; because 
greater is he that is in you, than he 
that is in the world. EccL vii. 18. 



151 

He that feareth God shall come forth of 
them all. Prov. ii. 12. To deliver 
thee from the way of the evil man, from 
the man that speaketh fro ward things. 
Ver. 16. To deliver thee from the 
strange woman, even from the stranger 
that iiattereth with her words. Eccl. 
vii. 26. I find more hitter than death, 
the woman whose heart is snares and 
nets, and her hands as bands ; whoso 
pleaseth God, shall escape from her, 
bat the sinner shall be taken by her. 

MEDITATION. 

We can never conquer sin and Sa- 
tan, but by being united to Christ by a 
living faith ; even by a blessed and in- 
timate union, like the branch to the 
vine ; the bride to the bridegroom ; the 
members of the body to the head ; and 
of course, one body with him. Let no 
man think or say, that it is an easy 
matter to vanquish the devil by faith, or 
confide in God in times of great dis- 
tress, when the wind and tide seem 
against us : no, be assured it is a great 
thingthus to stand ; and it is only faith 



155 

in the promises, tbat can support us in 
such times : and for this very purpose 
they were given by our indulgent Cre- 
ator. O my beloved reader, when you 
prove by experience, like me, that this 
world is a wilderness of tribulation and 
systematic villany ; that friendship is 
but a name, and treachery a reality ; 
you will prize the precious pro- 
mises of God, given for our support in 
the hour of trouble. This world truly is 
an hospital, the receptacle of sorrow, 
sickness and death ; a slaughter-house, 
the reservoir of carnage, contagion, and 
human blood ; and no true rest can we 
find, till we look to God for rest and 
refuge, support and comfort, through 
grace. But grace must be guarded by 
humble watchfulness, or it will depart 
from us. As the spirit of wine will 
evaporate if not corked, so the spirit of 
grace will vanish, if not watched. In 
the first case only water remains, in the 
last, only the form of godliness, or at 
best only morality : and this may hap- 
peu almost imperceptibly. Hence the 
necessity of taking heed to our own 



196 

Spirits, and nurturing the spirit of grace,,* 
and searching the Scriptures. For as 
the apostles predicted, in these " latter 
times, plausible errors" and delusive 
seductions evidently appear, at least to 
me, before and behind, sideways and 
every way. O then, dear reader, pe- 
ruse the word of God, unadulterated 
by commentators, and at the same time 
pray for spiritual illumination thereon, 
then view with an unprejudiced eye, 
the present state of the Christian world, 
and you will see the gulf of error into 
which it is enveloped, and will be ena;- 
bled to avoid the same. 

PSALM CXXX. 

Out of the deeps of long distress, 

The borders of despair, 
I sent my cries to seek thy grace, 

My groans to move thine ear. 

Great God ! should thy severer eye, 

And thine impartial hand, 
Mark and revenge iniquity, 

No mortal flesh could stand. 

But there are pardons with my God, 

For crimes of high degree ; 
Thy Son has bought them with hrs blooft,- 

To draw us near to thee. 



m 

fl wait for tby salvation, Lord, 
With strong desires I wait; 

My soul, invited by thy word, 
Stands watching at thy gate.} 

Just as the guards that keep the night 
Long for the morning skies, 

Watch the first beams of breaking light; 
And meet them with their eyes: 

So waits my soul to see thy gracei 
And more intent than they, 

Meets the first op'nings of thy face, 
And finds a brighter day. 

Then in the Lord let Israel trust, 

Let Israel see his face ; 
The Lord is good, as well asjust, 

And plent'ous in his grace. 

There's full redemption at his throne 

For sinners long enslav'd ; 
The great Reedemer is his son, 

And Israel shall be sav'd. 



SECTION XX. 

'Hie good man's interest, portion, love, 
life and heaven, is God. 

O how great is the good man's pri- 
3 ilege ! although a beggar, clothed in 
rags, and seated on a dunghill ; yet 
God is his father, heaven his primary 
place of residence, and angels his asso- 
o 



158 

ciates and companions. Be encouraged 
then, ye afflicted children of the hea- 
venly king ; although you are now in 
an enemy's country, beset with ills and 
covered with misfortunes, fear not; 
greater is he that is for you, than all 
that can be against you. He herein 
promises you his interest in your fa- 
vour, his presence, his glory and his 
love to comfort you, and, the best of 
all, his own Son to redeem you from all 
evil. Thanks for ever be to his holy 
name ! and may all my readers say, 
Amen. 

Gen. xvii. % I will establish my 
covenant — to be a God unto thee. Lev. 
xxvi. 12. And I will walk among you, 
and will be your (rod, and ye shall 
be my people. Ps. xlviii. 14. This God 
is our God for ever and ever : he will 
be our guide, even unto death. Is. xli. 
10. Fear thou not, for I am with thee : 
be not dismayed, for I am thy God. 
Ezelc. xxxiv. 24. I the Lord will be 
their God, and my servant David a 
prince among them, Vevl 31, Ye my 



159 

flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, 
and I am your God, saith the Lord. 2 
Cor. vi. 16. I will be their God, and 
they shall be my people. Heb. viii. 10. 
I will be to them a God, and they shall 
be to me a people. Rev. xxi. 3. God 
himself shall be with them, and be their 
God. Heb. xi. 16. God is not ashamed 
to be called their God, for he hath pre- 
pared for them a city. Isa. liv. 5. For 
thy Maker is thine husband, (the Lord 
of hosts is his name) and thy Redeemer 
the holy one of Israel : the God of the 
whole earth shall he be called. Jer. xxx. 
22. Ye shall be my people, and I will 
be your God. Ps. xvi. 5. The Lord 
is the portion of mine inheritance, and 
of my cup. Ps. Ixxiii. 2Q. My flesh 
and my heart faileth, but God is the 
strength of my heart, and my portion 
for ever. Lam. ill. 2\. The Lord is 
my portion, saith my soul, therefore 
will I hope in him. Gen. xvi. 1. I am 
thy shield, and thy exceeding great re- 
ward. Isa. xxvii. 5. In that day shall 
the Lord of hosts be for a crown of 
glory, and for a diadem of beauty un- 



160 

to the residue of his people. Exod. 
xxxiii. 14. My presence shall go with 
thee, and I will give thee rest. Ps. 
cxl. 13. The upright shall dwell in 
thy. presence. Numb. Xxiii, 21. The 
Lord his God is with him, and the 
shout of a King is among them. Isa. 
xli. 10. Fear thou not, for I am with 
thee. John xiv. 23. If a man love me, 
he will keep my words : And my Fa- 
ther will love him, and we will come 
unto him, and make our abode with 
him. l)eut. xxxi. 8. The Lord, he it 
is that doth go before thee, he will be 
with thee, he will not fail thee, neither 
forsake thee. 2 Chron. xv. 2. The 
Lord is with you while ye be with him ; 
and if ye seek him, he will be found of 
you. Joel ii. S7- And ye shall know 
that I am in the midst of Israel, and 
that I am the Lord your God, and 
none else : and my people shall never 
be ashamed. Ezek. xxxiv. 30. Thus 
shall they know that I the Lord their 
God am with them. Ps. iv. 3. The 
Lord hath set apart him that is godly 
for himself. 



161 

MEDITATION. 

Who is the good man ? I answer, lie 
who loves God with the pure love of 
choice, and who walks in his statutes, 
not for the loaves and fishes, as millions 
do ; but from a principle of gratitude : 
such a man (rod loves and careth for, 
and such a man will most assuredly, 
by the light of the holy Spirit, be ena- 
bled to see, feel and experience, the 
blessedness of these divine promises. 
Such a man, although in the wilds of 
Arabia, will find the Lord to be preci- 
ous and pleasurable to him. He will 
give him an opportunity to hear of and 
participate the bread of heaven. He 
will find wavs and means to teach him 
the truth intellectually, if not vocally ; 
and he will at last take him where pious 
people from every nation will meet, and 
sit down with Abraham, Isaac and 
Jacob : 1 mean the kingdom of heaven. 
But even the good man may be befooled 
by the cunning adversary, as an angel 
of light, who attacks him with spiritual 
wickedness in high places ; while others 
he impregnates with fleshly wickedness 
o 2 



162 

in low places. Therefore, the best have 
cause to be very jealous of themselves, 
for self-righteousness is as damnable as 
licentiousness. Satan never gains so 
great a conquest, as when he can cover 
the Christian professor with a cloak, 
which will not only hide sensuality, but 
exhibit the spirituality of angels. The 
wiser we are in our own conceit, the 
greater is our foolishness. The more 
knowledge we have, the more we know 
our ignorance, and are of course, fools 
in our own estimation. Thus the more 
holy we are personally, the more we 
see the infinite distance between our 
holiness and God's ; hence, we greatly 
prize the doctrine of justification by faith, 
in the righteousness not of angels, but 
of God himself, and count our own 
righteousness, as filthy rags. 

PSALM xxxiv. 

I'll bless the Lord from day to day ; 

How good are all his ways ! 
Ye humble souls that use to pray, 

Come, help my lips to praise. 

Sing to the honour of his name, 
How a poor sufPrer cry'd \ 



163 

Jfor was his hope exposed to shame, 
Nor was his suit deny'd. 

When threat'ning sorrows round me stood, 

And endless fears arose, 
JLike the loud billows of a flood, 

Redoubling all my woes ; 

I told the Lord my sore distress, 

With heavy groans and tears ; 
He gave my sharpest torments ease, 

And sileuc'd all my fears. 

[O sinners ! come and taste his love, 
C< me, learn his pleasant ways, 

And let your own experience prove 
The sweetness of his grace. 

He bids his angels pitch their tents, 
Hound where his children dwell : 

What ills their heav'nly care prevents, 
No earthly tongue can tell.] ' 

[O love the Lord, ye saints of his ! 

His eye regards the just ; 
How richly bless'd their portion is, 

Who make the Lord their trust ! 

Young lions pinch'd with hunger, roar, 

And famish in the wood : 
jBut God supplies his holy poor 

With evVy needful good,] 



164 

SECTION XX t. 

Encouragement to the vilest Offenders 
to believe on Christ, and receive from 
him Repentance and Remission of 
sin, without money or price. 

" Come ye needy, come and welcome, 

God's free mercy glorify, 
Through belief, and through repentance, 

Ev'ry grace shall bring you nigh." 

Ho, every one who feels their lost 
condition by mature; come without de- 
lay to the good Samaritan, who has a 
halm for every wound, a cordial for 
every fear. The following precious 
promises, offers the blessings of the 
Gospel, to the vilest sinners ; without 
any respect of persons. Tarry not, 
therefore, for the avenger of blood is be- 
hind you, and the gulf of perdition 
before you. O, turn this moment to the 
city of refuge on your right hand, and 
you will find rest from your labour, and 
security, from all your enemies, in the 
bosom of God. 

Isa. xxviii. 16. Behold, Hay in Zion 
for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a 
precious corner-stone, a sure foundation 



l6d 

He that believeth shall not make haste. 
1 Pet. ii. (). He that believeth on him, 
shall not he confounded, lsa. xlv. 22. 
Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye 
ends of the earth. Mark ix. 2o. It 
thou canst believe, all things are pos- 
sible, to him that believeth. John i. 
12. As many as received him, to them 
cave he power to become the sons ot 
God, even to them that believe on his 
name. John in. 16. God so loved he 
world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth on him, 
should not perish, but have everlasting 
life Ver 18. He that believeth on him, 
is not condemned. Ver. 36. He that 
believeth on the Sou, hath everlasting 
life. John vi. 47- John xh. 4b. I am 
come a light into the world, that who- 
soever believeth on me, should not abide 
in darkness. Luke vii. 5>0. Thy faith 
Hath saved thee : Go in peace. Acts 
x 43. To him -he all the, prophets 
Witness, that through his Dame whoso- 
ever believeth on him. shall receive, re- 
mission of sins. Acts xvi. 31. Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 



166 



shalt be saved, and thy house. Horn 
ix. 33. Behold, J lay in Zion a stum-' 
bling stone, and rock of offence, and 
whosoever believeth on him, shall not 
be ashamed. Bom. iv. 5. To him that 
worketh not, hut b.elieveth on him that 
justifieth the ungodly, bis faith is 
counted for righteousness. Rom. x. 4 
Christ is the end of the law for righte- 
ousness to every one that believeth. 
Gal m 9 They which be Qf fait[) 

Messed with faithful Abraham. Ver. 
7. 1 hey which are of faith, the same 
are the children of Abraham. Ver. 22 
1 he scripture hath concluded all under 
sin, that the promise by faith of Christ 
Jesus might be given to them that be- 
heve. Heb x. 38. The just shall live 
by faith. Ver. 39. We are xrf them 
that believe, to the saving of the soul. 
±gh. 11.8 By grace you are saved, 
through faith. Heb. vi. 13. That ve 
be not slothful, but followers of them, 
who through faith and patience inherit 
the promises. 1 Tim. iv. 10. We trust 
m the living God, who is the Saviour 
ot all men, especially of those that be- 



167 

lieve. John xx: S9. Blessed are they 
that have not seen and yet have be- 
lieved. 

MEDITATION. 

Nothing is move acceptable to God, 
than a contrite heart. Hence, when 
the humble and contrite approach him 
in prayer, it should be in their own 
spontaneous language ; and not in the 
parrot language of ungodly ministers. 
Satan deceives many in this dark, 
gloomy iron age, with prayer books, 
as well as sermon books ; I mean, he 
makes them look more to those, than 
the holy Spirit, in their own hearts ; and 
he is willing we should look this way, 
that way, and every way, but to Christ 
in our hearts the hope of glory, which 
is the only true way to everlasting life. 
Alas! how many millions, think them- 
selves in the direct road to heaven, 
because they have an extensive know- 
ledge of the plan of salvation, and 
punctually attend all the forms and cere- 
monies, of some Christian denomina- 
tion; and walk periodically with a sane- 



168 

timonious countenance, '-and their pray- 
er books, under their arms to church, 
to hear their hired minister read his 
sermon. But it is a certain fact, that 
all our reading prayers, or hearing 
sermons read, or attending outward or- 
dinances, will no more wash us from 
oar native pollution, than soap and 
water, can wash an Ethiopean white. 

PSALM XXXVI. 

While men grow bold m wicked ways, 
And yet a God they own, s 

My heart within me ofien says, 

4 Their thoughts believe there *s none.' 

Their thoughts and ways at once declaie 

( Whate'er their lips profess,,) 
* God hath no wrath for thern to fear, 

* Nor will they seek his grace.' 

What strange self-flatt'ry blinds their eyes ! 

But there's a hast'ning hour, 
When they shall see with sore surprise 

The terrors of thy pow'r. 

Thy justice shall maintain its throne, 

Though mountains melt away ; 
Thy judgments are a world unknown, 

A deep unfathom'd sea. 

Above these heav'ns created rounds, 

Thy mercies, Lord, extend : 
Thy truth outlives the narrow bounds, 

Where tim« and nature end. 



169 

Safety to man thy goodness brings, 

Nor overlooks the beast ; 
Beneath the shadow of thy wings 

Thy children choose to rest. 

[From thee when creature -streams run low, 
And mortal comforts die, * 

Perpetual springs of life shall flow, 
And raise our pleasures high. 

Though all created light decay, 

And death close up our eyes, 
Thy presence makes eternal day, 

Where clouds can never rise.] 



SECTION XXII. 

The blessedness of loving, trusting and 
fearing God. 

O, how unspeakable the honour, and 
advantageous the privilege of loving 
God, and being united with him in the 
bonds of the nearest and dearest friend- 
ship. In the subsequent promises, this 
honour and privilege, is guaranteed. 
While worldlings are seeking ideal 
happiness, in every direction in vain, 
and enduring every fatigue, and suffer- 
ing every privation, in the delusive pur- 
suit. Here the exquisite happiness of 
angels, is offered to men merely for 



170 

asking for : u ask and ye shall receive." 
And if ye being evil, know bow to give 
good gifts to your children, how much 
more 'so, will God give his Spirit to 
them who ask it. And this is the greatest 
blessing we can ask, or God bestow. 

Exod. xx. 6. Shewing mercy unto 
thousands of them that love me, and 
keep my commandments. Dent. vii. 9. 
God keepeth covenant and mercy with 
them that love him, unto a thousand 
generations. Judg. v. 31. Let them 
that love him be as the sun, when he 
goeth forth in his might. J\Teh. i. 5. 
God keepeth covenant and mercy for 
them that love him. Ps. xxxvii. 4. 
Delight thyself in the Lord, and he 
shall give thee the desire of thine heart. 
Ps. xci. 14. Because he hath set his 
love upon me, therefore will I deliver 
him. Ps. cxlv. 20. The Lord pre- 
served all them that love him. Rom. 
yiii. 28. All things work together for 
good to them that love God. 1 Cor. 
ii. 9. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither have entered into the heart of 



m 

man, the things which God hath pre- 
pared for them that love him. 1 Cor. 
viii. 3. If any man love God, the same 
is known of him. James ii. 5. Heirs 
of the kingdom, which he hath pro- 
mised them that love him. Dent. xi. 
13. And it shall come to pass, if you 
hearken diligently to my command- 
ments, which I command you this day, 
to love the Lord your God, and to serve 
him. with all your heart, and with all 
your soul, Ver. 14. That I will give 
you the rain of your land in his due 
season, the first rain, and the latter rain, 
that thou mayest gather in thy corn, 
and thy wine, and thine oil. Ban. ix. 
4. O Lord, the great and dreadful God, 
keeping the covenant and mercy to 
them that love him, and to them that 
keep his commandments. Prov. vii. 
17- I love them that love me. Ver. 
21. That I may cause those that love 
me to inherit substance, and I will fill 
their treasures. John. xiv. 21. He that 
loveth me, shall be loved of my Father, 
and I will love him, and will manifest 
myself to him. Eph. vi. 24. Grace be 



172 

with all them that love our Lord Jesus 
Christ in sincerity. James i. 12. The 
crown of life, which he hath promised 
to them that love him. 2 Tim. iv. 8. 
The crown of righteousness, which the 
Lord the righteous judge shall give — 
to them that love his appearing. Ps. 
ii. 13. Blessed are all they that put 
their trust in him. Ps. xxvii. 14. 
Wait on the Lord ; be of good courage, 
and he will strengthen thy heart : Wait 
I say, on the Lord. Ps. xxvi. 1. I 
have trusted in the Lord, therefore I 
shall not slide. Ps. xviii. 30. He is 
a buckler to all those that trust in him. 
Ps. xxxi. 19. O how great is thy good- 
ness, which thou hast laid up for them 
that fear thee ! which thou hast wrought 
for them that trust in thee, before the 
sons of men ! Ver. 24. Be of good 
courage, and he shall strengthen your 
heart, all ye that hope in the Lord. 
Ps. xxxii. 10. He that trusteth in the 
Lord, mercy shall compass him about. 
Ps. xxxiv. 8. O taste and see that the 
Lord is good : blessed is the man that 
trusteth in him, Psal. Ixxxiv. 13. Ps 



173 

xxxiv. 22. The Lord redeemeth the 
soul of his servants, and none of them 
that trust in him shall be desolate. Pi. 
xxxvii. 3. Trust iu the Lord, and do 
good : so shalt thou dwell in the land, 
and verily thou shalt be fed. 

MEDITATION. 

Few, very few religionists, think for 
themselves, or have any opinion of their 
own ; nor even search the scriptures, 
with the candid view of gaining intel- 
lectual light. When they read the 
page of truth, it is like a school-boy 
reading his spelling book. When they 
advance an opinion that is controverted, 
their only alternative and appeal is 9 
"our minister says so:" the mi- 
nister's word is their law, and their 
faith is pinned to his sleeve. Hence 
the majority of mankind have less sa- 
gacity and generosity, and but little 
more intelligence and sensibility, than 
my horse. What a pity ! what a shame ! 
It is the most necessary thing in the 
world, to know for ourselves, on what 
foundation our hopes of heaven are 
p % 



174 

built. We must be enlightened before 
we love, we must love before we can 
obey; we must obey, before we can 
have any assurance of .the pardon, love 
and favour, of God ; who is angry with 
the wicked and disobedient every day. 
Yes, it is a contradiction in terms, and 
ideas, to suppose, that God can be in 
friendship with those who daily disobey 
him. True faith brings great light to the 
mind, and represents the Almighty as 
wise, good, powerful, perfect, charm- 
ing, beautiful, lovely; and above the 
thought of man supremely holy. Hence 
the sincere soul is captivated with the 
heavenly sight and inflamed with divine 
love. All things then appear vile and 
contemptible, in comparison of this su- 
per-celestial good ; but sin is above all 
detestible and hateful, because it is the 
perfect antipode of this supreme good. 
Yet, (notwithstanding the pride of 
party, the bigotry of sectarians, whose 
cry is, u we are the temple of the Lord") 
it is a positive truth, and he who is en- 
lightened with the blessed beams of the 
Spn of righteousness, will see and feel 



175 

it such, that the most enlightened man,, 
or body of men, "see but in fart 
through a glass darkly," and are of 
course the most humble, modest, and 
unassuming, and vise versa, with the 
greatest Ignoramus, 

PSALM LXXXIV. 

Great God, attend while £ion sings, 
The joy rhar from thy presence springs \ 
To spend one day with thee on earth, 
Exceeds a thousand days of mirth. 

Might I enjoy the meanest place 
Within thy house, O God of grace, 
No tents cf ease, nor thrones of powV, 
Should tempt my feet to leave thy door, 

God is our sun, he makes our day ; 
God is our shield, he guards our way 
From all th 5 'assaults of hell and sin, 
From foes without and foes within. 

All needful grace will God bestow, 
And crown that grace with glory too : 
He gives us all things, ad withholds 
No real good from upright souls. 

O God, our King, whose sovereign sway 

The giorio' s hosts of heav'n obey, 
And devils :it thy presence flee ; 
9 lest is ,the man that trusts in thee, 



176 

SECTION XXIII. 

The Bank of Heaven on earth. 

I have already advanced many argu* 
ments, to stimulate the friends of hu- 
manity to establish benevolent institu- 
tions in the cities and towns of the 
United States, for the temporal relief 
and spiritual consolation of the sick 
poor, the disconsolate widow, and 
weeping orphan. The seventh chap- 
ter of the second edition of my u Beau^ 
ties of Philanthrophy," and the first de- 
partment of the fourth edition of my 
*' Charms of Benevolence/* are each 
occupied in soliciting the co-operation 
of the philanthropic, in this celestial la- 
bour of love ; and I am happy in having 
it in my power to say, my endeavours 
have not been vain: the benevolent 
institutions in New-York and Trenton, 
have been a blessing to many poor dis- 
tressed objects ; but the " Female Hos- 
pitable Hociety," in Philadelphia, out- 
shines them all. Last winter they 
visited and relieved, spiritually, tempo^ 
yally and medicinally, six hundred 



177 

poor afflicted families, and expended 
many hundred dollars. The a Phila* 
delphia Society for the relief of indi- 
gent Sick Persons," has also been a 
spiritual blessing to many of the chil- 
dren Qf misfortune : they have expend- 
ed upwards of 1000 dollars : may hea- 
ven abundantly reward them for their 
eminent philanthropy ! For their en- 
couragement, and to convince them of 
the excellency of their charity, and to 
give them a glimpse of their treasure 
deposited in the bank of heaven, and 
to stimulate others to imitate them, in 
establishing similar societies in their 
respective towns, where they have not 
been already established, I subjoin the 
following heavenly promises of their 
heavenly Father. 

Beut. xv. 10. Thou shalt surely 
give him [thy poor brother :] and thine 
heart shall not be grieved, when thou 
givest unto him ; because that for this 
thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee 
in all thy works, and in all that thoii 
puttest thine hand unto. Ps. xli. 1. 



178 

Blessed is he that eonsidereth the 
poor ;' the Lord will deliver him in 
time of trouble. Ver, 2. The Lord 
will preserve him, and keep him alive, 
and he shall be bless9d upon the'earth ; 
and thou wilt not deliver "him into the 
will of his enemies. Ver. 3. The Lord 
will strengthen him upon the bed of 
languishing ; thou wilt make all his 
bed in his sickness. Ps. cxii. 9. He 
hath dispersed, he hath given to the 
poor ; his righteousness endureth for 
ever ; his horn shall be exalted with 
honour. Ver. 5. A good man shew- 
eth favour, and lendeth : he will guide 
his affairs with discretion. Ver. 6. 
Surely, he shall not be moved for ever : 
the righteous shall be in everlasting re- 
membrance. Ps. xxxvii. 25. I have 
been young, and now am old : yet have 
I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor 
his seed begging bread. Ver. 26. He 
is ever merciful, and lendeth ; and his 
seed is blessed. Prov. xi. 24. There 
i9 that scattereth, and yet increaseth ; 
and there is that withholdeth more than 
is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. Ver. 



179 

25. The liberal soul shall be made fat ; 
and he that watered], shall be watered 
also himself. Ver. 37. He that dili- 
gently seeketh good, procureth favour. 
Prov. xiv. 21. He that hath mercy on 
the poor, happy is he. Prov. xix. 17* 
He that hath pity on the poor, lendeth 
unto the Lord ; and that which he hath 
given, will he pay him again. Prov. 
xxii. 9. He that hath a bountiful eye, 
shall be blessed ; for he giveth of his 
bread to the poor. Prov. xxviii. 8. 
He that by usury and unjust gain in- 
creaseth his substance, he shall gather 
it for him that will pity the poor. Prov. 
xxviii. 27. He that giveth unto the 
poor, shall not lack. EccL xi. I. Cast 
thy bread upon the waters ; for thou 
shalt find it after many days. Ver, 2. 
Give a portion to seven, and also to 
eight ; for thou knowest not what evil 
shall be upon the earth. Is. xxxii. 8. 
The liberal deviseth liberal things, and 
bv liberal things he shall stand. Is. 
lviii. 7- Is it not [the fast that I have 
chosen'] to deal thy bread to the hun- 
gry, and that thou bring the poor thai 



180 

are cast out to thy house ? When thou 
seest the naked, that thou cover him ; 
and that thou hide not thyself from 
thine own flesh ? Ver. 8. Then shall 
thy light break forth as the morning, 
and thine health shall spring forth 
speedily ; and thy righteousness shall 
go before thee ; the glory of the Lord 
shall be thy rearward. Ver. 10. If thou 
draw out thy soul to the hungry, and 
satisfy the afflicted soul ; then shall thy 
light rise in obscurity, and thy dark- 
ness be as the noon day. Ver. 11. 
And the Lord shall guide thee contin- 
ually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, 
and make fat thy bones ; and thou 
shalt be like a watered garden, and 
like a spring of waters, whose waters 
fail not. Matt. x. 42. And whosoever 
shall give to drink unto one of these 
little ones, a cup of cold water only, 
in the name of a disciple ; verily I say 
unto you, he shall in no wise lose his 
reward. Matt. xxv. 84 Then shall 
the King say unto them on his right 
hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, 
in he tit the kingdom prepared for you 



181 

from the foundation of the world. J < 
35, For I was an hungered, and ye 
gave me moat ; 1 was thirsty, and ye 
gave me drink; 1 was a stranger, and 

ye, took me in ; Ver. 30. Naked, and 
ye clothed me : I was sick, and yc 
visited me ; I was in prison, and ye 
came unto me. Ver. 10. Verily I say 
unto yon. Inasmuch as you have done 
it unto one of the least of these my 
brethren, ye have done it unto me. 
Mark x. Si. Go thy way, sell what- 
soever thou hast, and give to the poor, 
and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. 
Luke vi. 38. Give and it shall be 
given unto you, good measure, pressed 
down, and shaken together, and run- 
ning over, shall men give info your bo- 
som : for with the same measure (hat 
ye mete withal, it shall be measured 
unto you again. Luke \i. 11. Give 
alms of such things as ye have ; and 
behold all things are clean unto you. 
Luke \ii. 33. Sell what ye have, and 
give alms : provide yourselves bags 
which wax not old, a treasure in the 
heavens that laileth not, where no thief 
4 



m 

approucheth, neither moth corrupteth. 
Luke xvi. 9. And I say unto you, 
Make to yourselves friends of the 
mammon of unrighteousness, that when 
ye fail, they may receive you into 
everlasting habitations. Luke xiv. 13. 
When thou makest a feast, call the 
poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind; 
Ver. 14. And thou shalt be blessed ; 
for they cannot recompense thee; for 
thou shalt be recompensed at the re- 
surrection of the just. 1 Cor. ix. 6. 
He which soweth sparingly, shall reap 
also sparingly ; and he which soweth 
bountifully, shall reap also bountifully. 
Ver. 7- — God loveth a cheerful giver. 
2 Cor. viii. IS. If there be first a 
willing mind, it is accepted accord- 
ing to what;a man hath, and not accord- 
ing to what he hath not. 1 Tim. 
vi. 17, 18. Charge them that are rich 
In this world — that they do good, that 
they be rich in good works, ready to 
distribute, willing to communicate. 
Ver. 19. Laying up in store for them- 
selves a good foundation against the 
time to come, that they may lay hold 



188 

on eternal life. Heb. xiii. 16. To do 
good, and to communicate, forget not ; 
for with such sacrifices God is well 
pleased. 2 Cor. ix. 8. God is able to 
make all grace to abound towards you, 
that ye always having all sufficiency in 
all things, may abound in every good 
work. Ver. 10. Now he that minis- 
treth seed to the sower, both minister 
bread for your food, and multiply your 
seed sown, and increase the fruits of 
your righteousness. Mat. vi. 3. When 
thou dost an alms, let not thy left hand 
know what thy right hand doth. Ver. 
4. That thine alms may be in secret ; 
and thy Father which seeth in secret, 
will reward thee openly. Mat v. 7* 
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall 
obtain mercy. Ps. xviii. 25. With 
the merciful, thou wilt shew thyself 
merciful. Prov. iii. 3. Let not mercy 
and truth forsake thee ; bind them 
about thy neck, write them upon the ta- 
ble of thine heart. Ver. 4. So shalt 
thou find favour and good understand- 
ing in the sight of God and man. Prov. 
xi. 17. The merciful man doth good 
to his own soul ; but he that is cruel, 



184 

troubleth Lis own flesh. Dent. xxiv. 
12. If the man be poor, thou shaft not 
sleep with his pledge. Ver. 13. In any 
case thou shaft deliver him the pledge 
again when the sun goeth down, that 
he may sleep in his own raiment, and 
bless thee; and it shall be righteous- 
ness unto thee, before the Lord thy 
God. 

MEDITATION. 

While millions of pounds are spent 
in building magnificent churches, and 
ornamenting men called Doctors of di- 
vinity,* and maintaining them in their 
extravagance, pride and laziness, the 

* In order once for all to hush the voice of slander, 
and her auxiliaries bigotry, prejudice and supersti- 
tion, (who methinks I hear exclaim i( That blasphe- 
mous wretch, T. Branagan, calumniates the holy- 
priesthood with impunity !") I will transcribe the 
declaration I made in the fourth edition of my 
* Rights of God," page 273, and which I hereby con- 
solidate : — 

t( I greatly lament to find \ that there are intelligent, 
and in other respects independent people, who now reiterate 
the exclamation which the intolerant priests formerly 
used, when they kindled the fires in whicb the martyrs 
were consumed; namely, *- the church is tn dan- 
ger, because the holy priesthood is calumniated.'* They 
remember to forget what I have so repeatedly and point- 
edly declared^ to wit, * ( that no true minister of Christy di- 



185 

poor in many places are neglected, and 
suffered to die in spiritual and tempo- 
ral want, by people professing religion, 
and always going to church with their 
prayer books under their arm, and by 
their dignified parsons, with their ser- 
mon books in their pockets. O the 
deleterious delusion ! O the dreadful 
darkness that rests upon the minds of 
these people ! who think they are going 
direct to the church triumphant in hea- 
ven, because they periodically go to 
the church militant on earth ; when 
our precious and most merciful Re- 
deemer has positively and categorically 
declared, that he will address those on 
his left hand in the final day of retribu- 
tion, thus : " Go ye cursed ; for I was 
an hungred and ye gave me no meat ; 
thirsty, and ye gave me no drink ; a 

rectly or indirectly, has any connection with my animad- 
versions .*" indeed, no people on earth do I so much love, 
admire and venerate, as them. But because I admire vir- 
tue* must 1 be calumniated because I expose villany ! 
Who but a thief in his heart, will condemn me for expos- 
ing a den of thieves? Who but a servile, priest-ridden 
animal, will abuse me for exposing the avarice, the hypo- 
crisy> the duplicity of clerical impostors ? i} 
<12 



186 

stranger, and ye took me not in ; naked, 
and ye clothed ine not ; sick, and in 
prison ztnd ye visited me not." Vain, 
indeed, must be the hope of that man, 
who flatters himself with the expecta- 
tion, that Christ will declare a palpable 
lie, to save him from the ruin his de- 
linquency richly merits. 

PSALM L. 

The'God of glory sends his summons forth, 
Calls the south nations, and awakes the north : 
From east to west the sov'reign orders spread, 
Through distant worlds and regions of the dead. 

The trumpet sounds; hell trembles ; heavVi rejoices ; 

Lift up your heads, ye saints, with cheerful voices. 

No more shall atheists mock his long delay ; 

His vengeance sleeps no more ; behold the day ! 

Behold ! the Judge descends ; his guards are nigh ; 

Tempest and fire attend him down the sky. 
When God appears all nature shall adore him ; 
While sinners tremble, saints rejoice before him. 

* Heav'n, earth, and hell draw near; let all things 

1 come 
4 To hear thy justice, and the sinner's doom ; 
« But gather first my saints, (the Judge commands) 
« Bring them, ye angels from their distant lands.' 
When Christ returns, wake every cheerful passion, 
And shout, ye saints, he comes for your salvation. 

* Behold my cov'nant stands for ever good, 
1 SealM by th' eternal sacrifice in blood, 

* And sign'd with all their names : the Greek, the 

Jew* 

* That paid the ancient worship, or the new.' 



187 

There's no distinction here ; join all your voices, 
And raise your heads, ye saints for heaven rejoices. 

g Here, (saith the Lord) ye angels spread their 

thrones, 
' And near me seat my fav'rites and my sons ; 

* Come my redeem'd possess the joys prepar'd 
' Ere time began, 'tis your divine reward. 

When Christ returns, wake ev'ry cheerful passion; 
And shout ye saints, he comes for your salvation. 

1 I am the Saviour, I th' Almighty God, 

* The sov'reign Judge ; ye heav'ns proclaim abroad 
' My just eternal sentence, and declare 

* Those awful truths, that sinners dread to hear.' 
When God appears, all nature shall adore him ; 
While sinners tremble, saints rejoice before him. 

' Stand forth, thou bold blasphemer, and profane ; 
' Now feel my wrath, nor call my threatnings vain; 
< Thou hypocrite, once dress' d in saint's attire, 

* I doom thee, painted hypocrite, to fire.' 
Judgment proceeds; hell trembles; heav'n rejoices ; 
Lift up your heads, ye saints, with cheerful voices. 

« Not for the want of goats or bullocks slain 

* Do I condemn thee ; bulls and goats are vain 
c Without the flame of love ; in vain the store 

1 Of brutal oft'rings that were mine before.* 
Earth is the Lord's, all nature shall adore him ; 
While sinners tremble, saints rejoice before him. 

( If I were hungry, would I ask thee food ? 

' When did I thirst, or drink thy bullock's blood ? 

■ Mine are the tamer beasts and savage breed, 

« Flocks, herds, and fields, and forests where thev 
« feed.' 
All is the Lord's ; he rules the wide creation ; 
Gives sinners vengeance, and the saints salvation. 



188 

{ Can I be flatter'd with thy cringing bows, 

* Thy solemn chatterings and fantastic vows? 

* Are my eyes charm'd thy vestments to behold, 

* Glaring in gems, and gay in woven gold ?' 
God is the judge of hearts, no fair disguises 
Can screen the guilty when his vengeance rises. 

* Unthinking wretch ! how couldst thou hope to 

* please 
1 A God a spirit, with such toys as these ? 

* While with my grace and statutes on thy tongue, 

* Thoulov'st deceit, and dost thy brother wrong.' 
Judgment proceeds; hell trembles; heav'n rejoices; 
X,ift up your heads ye saints, with cheerful voices. 

• 'In vain to pious forms thy zeal pretends ; 
' Thieves and adult'rers are thy chosen friends ; 

* While the false flatt'rer at thy altar waits, 
'Hisharden'd soul divine instruction hates.* 

God is the Judge of hearts, no fair disguises 
Can screen the guilty when his vengeance rises. 



SECTION XXIV. 

The resurrection of the dead demon- 
strated. ( 

You, who all your life- time are in 
bondage to the fear of death, remem- 
ber, and let the thought sink deep, that 
you do not properly begin to live, till 
the midwife death delivers you from 
the womb of time, to see the golden 
light of eternity. You, who are tempt- 



189 

cd to doubt the doctrine of the resur- 
rection, view the filthy worm expire, 
and afterwards arise from its tomb, and 
shine forth a golden butterfly. Let 
this natural truth, which you cannot 
doubt, hush to eternal silence your 
doubts, relative to the resurrection of 
the human body ; for most assuredly, 
one is as great a phenomenon as the 
other. In addition to this argument, I 
subjoin the subsequent precious pro- 
mises, hoping they may remove your 
tormenting doubts and destructive un- 
belief. 

Job xix. 26. Thoueh after my skin 
worms destroy this body, yet in my 
flesh shall I see God : Ver. 27. Whom 
I shall see for myself, and mine eyes 
shall behold, and not another, though 
my reins be consumed within me. Is. 
xxvi. 19. Thy dead men shall live, to- 
gether with my dead body shall they 
arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell 
in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew 
of herbs ; and the earth shall cast out 
the dead. Ban. xii. 2. Many of them 



190 

that sleep in the dust of the earth shall 
awake ; some to everlasting life, and 
some to shame, and everlasting eon- 
tempt. Ps. xvi. 9. My flesh also shall 
rest in hope : Ver. 10. For thou wilt 
not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt 
thou suffer thine Holy One to see cor- 
ruption. Lulce xx. 35. They which 
shall be accounted worthy to obtain that 
world, and the resurrection from the 
dead, neither marry, nor are given in 
marriage. Ver. 36. Neither can they 
die any more ; for they are equal unto 
the angels, and are the children of God, 
being the children of the resurrection. 
John v. 28. The hour is coming, in 
the which all that are in the graves 
shall hear his voice. Ver. 29. And 
shall come forth ; they that have done 
good, unto the resurrection of life ; and 
they that have done evil, unto the re- 
surrection of damnation. John vi. 39. 
This is the Father's will which hath 
sent me, that of all which he hath given 
ine, I should lose nothing, but should 
raise it up at the last day. Ver. 54. 
Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh 



101 

my blood hath eternal life, and I will 
raise him up at the last day. John xi. 
25. I am the resurrection and the life ; 
he that believeth in me, though he were 
dead, yet shall he live. Morn. viii. 11. 
If the Spirit of him that raised up 
Jesus from the dead, dwell in you, he 
that raised up Christ from the dead, 
shall also quicken your mortal bodies by 
his Spirit that dwclleth in you. 1 Cor. 
xv. SI. Since by man came death, by 
man came also the resurrection of the 
dead. Ver. 22. For as in Adam all 
die, even so in Christ shall all be made 
alive. Ver. 42. So also is the resur- 
rection of the dead : it is sown in cor- 
ruption, it is raised in incorruption : 
Ver. 43. It is sown in dishonour, it is 
raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness, 
it is raised in power : Ver. 44. It is 
sown a natural body, it is raised a spi- 
ritual body. Ver. 49. As we have 
borne the image of the earthy, we shall 
also bear the image of the heavenly. 
Ver. 51. Behold, I shew you a mys- 
tery ; we shall not all sleep, but we 
shall all be changed ; Ver. 52. In a 



192 

moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at 
the last trump, (for the trumpet shall 
sound) and the dead shall be raised 
incorruptible, and we shall be changed* 
Ver. 53. For this corruptible must put 
on ineorruption, and this mortal put on 
immortality. Ver. 54. So when this 
corruptible shall have put on incorrup- 
tion, and this mortal shall have put on 
immortality : then shall be brought to 
pass the saying that is written, Death 
is swallowed up in victory. 1 Cor. vi. 
2. Do not you know, that the saints 
shall judge the world ? Ver. 3. Know 
ye not that we shall judge angels? 
2 Cor. v. 1. We know, that if our earth- 
ly house of this tabernacle were dis- 
solved, we have a building of God, an 
house not madp with hands, eternal in 
the heavens. Ver. 2. For in this we 
groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed 
upon with our house which is from hea- 
ven : Ver. 3. If so be, that being 
clothed, we shall not be found naked. 
Ver. 4. For we that are in this taber- 
nacle do groan, being burdened; not 
for that we should be unclothed, but 



193 

clothed upon, that mortality might be 
swallowed up of life. 2 Cor. iv. 14. 
Knowing, that he which hath raised up 
the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also 
by Jesus, and shall present us with 
you. Phil. iii. 21. Who shall change 
our vile body, that it may he fashioned 
like unto his glorious body, according 
to the working, whereby he is able even 
to subdue all things to himself. 1 Thess. 
iv. 14. Tf we believe that Jesus died, 
and rose again, even so them also which 
sleep in Jesus, will God bring with 
him. Ver. 15. For this we say unto 
you by the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive, and remain unto the 
coming of the Lord, shall not prevent 
them which are asleep. Ver. 16. For 
the Lord himself shall descend from 
heaven witli a shout, with the voice of 
the archangel, and with the trump of 
God : and the dead in Christ shall rise 
first. Ver. 17. Then we which are 
alive and remain, shall be caught up to- 
gether with them in the clouds, to meet 
the Lord in the air. 2 Tim. i. 10. Je- 
sus Christ hath abolished death, and 



194 

hath brought life and immortality to 
light through the gospel. 

MEDITATION. 

The reading these heavenly promi- 
ses should be always connected with 
humble faith and prayer; and then 
our gloomy doubts will be removed, 
and celestial light break in upon our 
minds; and then, and not till then, 
will we be couvinced of the reasonable- 
ness and truth of the doctrine of the 
resurrection. Nothing has so great a 
tendency to produce doubts in the hu- 
man mind, as ignorance of ourselves, 
of the divine character, and the plan of 
salvation by faith. Most men, the pro- 
fane as well as the professor, either 
directly or indirectly, build their hopes 
of heaven and eternal life on good 
works, that they have done or intend 
to do ; hence they reject the righteous- 
ness of Christ, by which alone they 
can be justified and accepted by the Fa- 
ther. And the Roman Catholics carry 
this opinion or belief so far, as to ex- 
pect by their own wofcks of righteous- 



195 

ness, not only to purchase heaven for 
themselves, but also with the overplus, 
( called supererogatory works) to pro- 
cure eternal glory for such of their 
friends as are deficient in this respect. 
This fatal delusion can only be exter- 
minated by the light of the holy Spirit, 
which will discover our natural guilt 
and pollution, and the imperfection of 
our very best performances, and the ne- 
cessity of their being sprinkled with the 
blood of atonement, before they can, 
by any means bear the strict scrutiny 
of infinite purity. 

PSALM XVII. 

Arise my gracious God, 

And make the wicked flee ; 
They are but thy chastising rod, 

To drive thy saints to thee. 

Behold the sinner dies, 

His haughty words are vain ; 
Here in this life his pleasure lies, 

And all beyond is pain- 

Then let his pride advance, 

And boast of all his store ; 
The Lord is my inheritance, 

My soul can wish no more. 



196 

I shall behold the face 

Of my forgiving God ; 
And stand complete in righteousness 

Wash'd in my Saviour's blocd. 

There's a new heaven begun 
When I awake fro -v. death, 

Dress'd in the likeness cf thy Son, 
And draw immortal breath. 




CONCLUSION : 

Being a blow at the root of Fhariseeism. 



Reader, my labour in publishing, 
and yours in reading the preceding 
Scripture promises, will be in vain, 
unless you become acquainted with the 
plan of salvation by Christ Jesus ; not 
by works, least any man should boast. 
I will again repeat, if you will please 
to excuse the tautology, " To him who 
believeth, in him who justifieth the un- 
godly, his faith is counted (in the sight 
of God) for righteousness." 

The reason so many try to " enter 
in at the straight gate," and are not 
able, is this ; instead of receiving from 
the liberality of heaven, the righteous- 
ness of Christ by faith, and conse- 
quently justification, sanctification and 
glorification, they go about to establish 
their own righteousness by works, 
alias, sincere obedience. Their proud 
hearts will not endure the idea, of ac- 
cepting this gift of God without money 

K 2 



198 

and without price : but if they have 
or think they have, only one good 
thought, they will give it to God in pay- 
ment. Hence, they fall short of the 
only righteousness by which they can 
be justified ; I mean the righteousness, 
not of holy angels or holy men, but the 
holy Son of God. Is it any wonder 
then, that such persons, notwithstand- 
ing they profess much religion, and 
constantly attend all the outward ordi- 
nances of the gospel, are nevertheless 
subject to the power of Satan, and 
slaves to this present world. Most as- 
suredly, they never can be released 
therefrom, but by union and fellowship 
with Christ ; qr, as the apostle speaks, 
by " Christ dwelling in the heart 
through faith." The Lord does not 
act upon true believers by force, as 
though they were sticks or stones, or 
animals, or mere machines. He en- 
lightens the understanding to see his 
goodness : the will then approves, the 
affections follow after. Then, and not 
till then, is precious Christ chosen, and 
received by faith, as the pearl of great 



199 

price. You, who are pleased and sa- 
tisfied with your own amendment and 
sincere obedience, suppose, for the 
sake of argument, you lived from the 
time of your ideal conversion, as holy 
as an archangel ; (though well I know 
even the best of Christians have need 
every day to pray with Dr. Young, 
"Forgive my crimes, forgive my vir- 
tues too !") yet then, even then, who is 
to satisfy offended justice, for the mil- 
lions of enormous crimes, committed 
antecedent to that conversion, if it is 
not him who never sinned? namely, 
Christ. And will he satisfy offended 
Justice in favour of those, who attempt 
to rob him of his mediatorial crown. 
The fact is, independent of Christ, the 
most holy man on earth commits in one 
day, faults enough to exclude him from 
heaven, although his former life was 
faultless. " This is the naked truth, 

LET WHO WILL DISBELIEVE IT. HeilCe 

the prophet Isaiah observes, " All our 
righteousness is as filthy rags," lsa. 
xliv. 6. Notwithstanding the Scrip- 
tures are so plain and pointed in ex- 



200 

plodding a self-righteous spirit, yet 
many talk of conversion, who are 
strong in confidence of a righteousness 
of their own : of course, they forego the 
righteousness of Christ, who " is the 
end of the law for righteousness to eve- 
ry one that believeth." 

But the Pharisee will boldly assert, 
it is ridiculous to suppose, that one 
man can be continued in the possession 
of life, much less made righteous for 
the righteousness of another. I an- 
swer, on the same ground, the declara - 
tion of the Almighty himself may be 
counted ridiculous, " If I find in So- 
dom fifty righteous persons within the 
city, I will spare all the place for their 
sakes." Gen. xviii. 26. The most 
abandoned sinners, when convinced of 
sin, and when they betake themselves 
to the Saviour for redemption by faith, 
have that moment an interest in his 
life, death and righteousness, notwith- 
standing all their personal criminality. 
" He that justifieth the ungodly that 
believe in his name." Mom. iv. 5. 
There are many thousands of gay li- 



201 

ceatious sinners, bound by the devil in 
the chains of sensuality ; who are con- 
tinually tormented with the fear of fu- 
ture misery, entirely owing to their 
ignorance of these glad tidings of free 
gospel grace ; which, if once revealed 
in their hearts, would be the infallible 
means of their instantaneous emancipa- 
tion. 

Finally, " Christ is the end of the 
law for righteousness, to every one that 
believeth." The gospel, with its pro- 
mises, powerfully and sweetly urge us 
to obedience ; while the law, with its 
purity, strictness and terrors, prohibits 
us from trusting in our obedience. He 
who neglects obedience, is a total 
stranger to gospel truth, and in the di- 
rect road to ruin; while he who depends 
upon his obedience, to justify him in 
the sight of God, defeats the design of 
the gospel, and is in the circuitous road 
to ruin. Thus our cunning adversary 
has two nets, with which he ensnares 
the silly sons of men, licentiousness 
and Phariseeism. Those who will not 
come to Christ that they might have 



202 

life, if they even escape the first net, 
will most assuredly be caught in the 
second. 

These sentiments are hateful in the 
sight of millions, who profess religion ; 
but let the sincere Christian acquit or 
condemn them, not by the opinion of 
his favourite sect, but rather by the 
oracles of truth. Let them stand or 
fall by Scripture testimony. 



END OF THE CELESTIAL COMFORTER. 




VVVVVVVVWVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV^iVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV 

A GLIMPSE 

OF THE 

LAST CHURCH OF CHRIST 
IN THE WORLD, 

AND 

THE PERSECUTION OF THAT CHURCH, 

Prior to tlie commencement of the Millenium* 

Being an apology for the religious sentiments of the 
Author. 

W\iWWWWWV\» vwvw w*> www w% www www vwvw 



PRELIMINARY REMARKS. 



In the third edition, of my " Rights 
of God," page 277 ; I have the follow- 
ing prediction,* which has been cen- 
sured, I believe, with remarkable seve- 

* Since the apostolic age, scarcely any sect has en- 
lightened the minds, and reformed the manners of 
mankind, so much as the Society of Friends, while 
they were (as to this world's goods) poor and perse- 
cuted. The power of God manifested in their meet- 
ings, was proverbial, before they became rich and 
opulent ; and then much of the power departed ; 
though (which can be said of but very few degene- 
rated Societies) the morality, with the form still re- 
mains. On the decline of Quakerism, God raised up 
the Methodists, who have been, if possible, a greater 
blessing to the human family, than even the Quakers, 
especially while they were a persecuted people. Far 
be it from me to suggest a disrespectful sentiment, 
relative to this numerous, pious, and respectable sect, 
much less to publish what I consider erroneous and 
injudicious in their church government. But I must 
say, when they degenerate like other sects, the power 
will also depart from them. And then I believe, but 
not till then, will the Almighty raise up a people, ac- 
cording to the above prediction. 
S 



206 

rity. In order to apologize for that 
prediction, and the sentiments connected 
with it/ 1 conceive it my duty to give 
my reasons, for advancing them. The 
prediction reads thus : 

" The temporal government of the 
Quaker meeting is worthy of imitation 
in this respect : — Their ministers do 
not receive any thing except in some 
very particular cases, where the indi- 
vidual is in very low circumstances, 
and travels abroad, — and then only a 
bare sufficiency for his or her expenses 
in the journey. When they are at their 
own homes they do not receive a cent, 
if they should attend meetings, and 
preach every day in the week. They 
likewise transact the affairs of the 
church, nearly in the same manner the 
primitive Christians did. Were these 
amiable and estimable people less 
mystical in spiritual matters, — did they 
permit such of their weak members as 
believe it their duty, to participate the 
ordinances of the gospel, and give more 
liberty in their social meetings, they 
would become the praise of the whole 



207 

earth ; for thousands are sick of being 
priest ridden, and would associate with 
them, but for this reason. However, I 
think I can safely predict, that God 
will raise up a people of this descrip- 
tion ; but when, how, or where, he only 
can tell. An anti- sectarian people, 
who will not raise a partition wall to 
keep all out, who will not subscribe to 
their homilies and peculiar articles of 
faith, and denounce all who will not 
co-operate with them. A people who 
will love all who love Christ, and pray 
for and pity all who oppose them. A 
people who will be free, spiritually as 
well as temporally ; who will have no 
high priest but Christ, and no king but 
Christ. A people who will read the 
Scriptures, and sing vocally as well as 
mentally, the solemn praises of God in 
their social meetings. A people who 
will receive with open arms the perse- 
cuted and off-casts of all sects and par- 
ties ! arid who will have a free burial 
ground, as well as a free meeting. A 
people who will be ruled by the majo- 
rity, and not by one man. Finally, a 



208 

people who will be an exact equili- 
brium between the Methodists, whom 
I love most, and the Quakers, whom I 
most admire." 

I will now introduce a few miscel- 
laneous thoughts, and afterwards con- 
trast the true church of Christ, with the 
false one that is, has been, and will be 
in the world; and do it with brevity and 
simplicity ; as my limits will not admit 
me to enlarge. And first, I will entreat 
thee, O my sectarian reader ! to forget 
for a few moments, that you belong to 
any sect or party, that the clouds of pre- 
judice may be dispersed, and the light 
of divine truth admitted to shine unin- 
terruptedly on your minds. For preju- 
dice in the mind, is like black clouds 
in our atmosphere; thelhst hinders the 
beams of the sun of righteousness from 
shining into the mind, the other precludes 
the natural sun beams from warming, 
and invigorating the body. Hence it 
would be as absurd in me, to expect a 
bigotted or prejudiced individual, to see 
the utility and importance of these re- 
marks, as it would be, to expect a 



209 

blind man to give a correct opinion of 
colours, or a deaf man of sounds. 
The world is full of error ; and error, 
is destructive, to both body and soul. 
Whereas, truth is almost cashiered, and 
tradition ' substituted in its place ; yet 
truth is the only light that can lead us 
out of this dark howling wilderness, 
into the mansions of eternal repose. If 
we wish to see the true church of Christ, 
in the world, we must not look for it 
amongst great men, rich men, Rev. 
men, or Right Rev. men; but rather 
among the poor and persecuted chil- 
dren of affliction, who are taught by 
their own miseries to pity and relieve 
the miserable. The spirit of truth which 
influences them, is a spirit of mercy and 
moderation. But where shall we find 
any one denomination, actuated by this 
heavenly spirit. It was nurtured and 
manifested by the primitive saints, and 
also by some denominations of profes- 
sed christians, while in a poor, afflicted 
persecuted state. But alas ! when opu- 
lence and worldly honour flowed in 
upon them, this celestial dove, took its 
s2 



210 

everlasting flight. And the first-born 
child of hell, took its place, I mean a 
spirit of bigottry, superstition and pre- 
judice, which I hope more fully to ex- 
hibit in the subsequent pages. And I 
entreat the Almighty, to enable me to 
do it with a spirit of humility, and 
christian moderation. Indeed it is my 
great failing, to be too acrimonious in 
my reproof; not from any personal en- 
mity, for I can truly say, I am in love 
and charity, with all men ; but from a 
jealousy, for the honour of God, and a 
sympathy, for his suffering creatures. 
The best of men have their imperfec- 
tions ; hence the necessity of humility 
in life and death, and the absurdity of 
the doctrine of salvation by works; and 
above all, works of supererogation. 
Yet, alas ! there are millions who firmly 
believe this doctrine, because many 
thousands of men called ministers of the 
gospel preach it to them, although the 
doctrine inculcated by our blessed Sa- 
viour and his apostles, is as different 
from it as light is from darkness. In 
order to ascertain the truth, as it is in 



211 

Jesus, we should not only scrupu- 
lously examine his own words, unadul- 
terated hy worldly wise commentators, 
but also examine his conduct, which 
both illustrate and consolidate his 
words. Of the millions of subline and 
eloquent sermons, periodically teeming 
from the pulpit and the press, few, very 
few vindicate the truth, but many ad- 
vocate error with the most elegant com- 
position, embellished with a thousand 
golden lies ; because error is admired 
almost by every body, and pure truth, 
by nobody. Hence, I am morally cer- 
tain, that these remarks w ill be viewed 
by the sons of error, with the side glance 
of contemptuous disregard, while the 
most futile, frivolous, and perhaps vile 
and vulgar publications will be greatly 
admired. However, I pity such per- 
sons from my heart, and also their mi- 
serable ministers : who like the Jewish 
doctors, keep the key of knowledge, 
and will neither enter heaven them- 
selves, nor suffer those they call (in the 
language of monarchy) their people to 
center there. Yes I pity them, from my 



213 

heart's core, because their doom will 
be dreadful, and their responsibility 
awful in the day of judgment. 

I well know I should be as great a 
biggot, and as superstitious an animal 
as any to be found, were it not for the 
enlightening beams of the Son of righte- 
ousness which shined upon my mind, 
when the clouds of prejudice were dis- 
sipated by calamity and persecution ; 
by which 1 was cured of my papal su- 
perstition, and afterwards my sectarian 
predilection. Then, and not till then, 
had truth an opportunity to shine with- 
out interruption upon my mind. 

I remember the time that I would 
have almost assassinated a fellow who 
would write, what I have written, and 
think I was doing God a service, by 
extirpating such a blasphemous wretch 
from the face of the earth. 

Then how humble ought I to be, 
how abased and contemptible in my 
own sight, who has every thing to be 
ashamed of, and nothing to be proud 
of. O then, soul of my soul ! and 
sovereign of my heart ! let the seeds of 



213 

this ridiculous, unreasonable, inconsis- 
tent, and destructive crime (pride,) no 
more have an opportunity to take root 
in my heart ! For to the humble soul, 
thou dost reveal thy truth, while the 
sons of pride are inveloped in a gulph 
of awful delusion, and believe a lie, 
and are finally damned, because they 
receive not the truth in the love of it 

The 'primitive* mode of Christian 
worship, 

IN JERUSALEM AND ITS VICINITY. 

A green mountain, a fishing boat, 
the side of Jacob's well, the lanes and 
alleys, as well as the Jewish synago- 
gues, were the churches of our Saviour, 

* In order that every sect, and every sectarian, may 
compare their pr fessional denomination, with the true 
apostolic church of Christ ; and their modes, forms, 
and ceremonies, with the simple, pure, pious, and com- 
prehensive methodor worship practised by the primitive 
Christians, I have contrasted them, in the following- 
pages. Far be it from me to invalidate any party, po- 
litical or religious from party motives, this cannot be, 
for I am no partizan. I believe there are good people 
and g >od principles, in almost every denomination, as 
well as bad ones. For instance ; among '.he Roman 
Catholics, that cardinal truth, is both advocated ana 



214 

where he preached his gospel, without 
sacerdotal robes, enormous salary, or 
honorary titles. 

promulgated, viz. the divinity of christ. The 
Protestants hold to the super-excellent doctrine of sal- 
vation by faith. The Calvinists, defend the im- 
mutability OF THE DIVINE DECREE. The Ulli- 
versalists contend, that all men Aue decreed to be 
finally saved. The Quakers, hold forth the in- 
Dwelling of the spirit of truth ; which I call 
the sheet anchor of the soul. The Methodists, sup- 
port a valuable itinerancy among their preachers, which 
I believe is the primary cause of their grea; success, in 
their benevolent endeavours, for the conversion of man- 
kind The Christian church, have relinquished all 
creeds, articles of faith, disciplines ad homilies in fa- 
vour of tb* t one, which our Saviour laid down with the 
apostles, for the rule and government of his church on 
earth. I might go on to mention many other excellent 
things to be found in the other denominatio -is. What 
a pity the wheat was not winnowed from them all 
and the chuff thrown away, this migtu be and indeed 
ought to be the case. What a pity those who 
wish to be free in a religious, as well as a political 
sense, and are disgusted with the duplicity of our Ame- 
rican ecclesiastical kings ; and who are enlightened to 
see in every sect, and party, asatanic barrier, or parti- 
tion wall, to preclude love and social intercourse from 
spreading among all the lovers of Jesus, like oil from 
vessel to vessel. In short, what a pity it is, they do not 
bear a practical testimony against bigottry, by estab- 
lishing a free, liberal anti-sectarian asylum, for the per- 
secuted, and innocent off-casts of all sects. 

The only discipline theapostleshad, viz. the precepts 
of Christ to be their discipline. Their only king and 
priest, the Saviour and his spirit, their president, rule 
and guide. Their mode of worship, to be purely apos- 



Jig 



IN EUROPE. 

Marsliill, the market place of Athens, 
the lanes and alleys, a loft three stories 

tolical, without be ding to the prejudices and tradi- 
tions of the present age ; or turning to the right hand, 
or the left therefrom. The only pre-requisites to become 
a member, faith in, and union with Christ, and a belief' 
in the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, all controverted 
points of divinity, to be totally excluded ; which has 
been such a dreadful curse to the church of Christ. 
Hence people of all opinions may be united and free if 
they agree in the above fundamental truths, and finally, 
may go to heaven, hand in hand, and need not fall out 
by the way. 

If any members at any time, expressed a conscien- 
tious desire, to panicipate in any ordinance, plainly 
pointed out in the New Testament ; let even the majo- 
rity agree to this reasonable desire of the minority, with- 
out one party being offended with the other, for parta- 
king, or not partaking; let not this bigottry be so much 
as once mentioned. Bur ab ve all things, let no rich man 
have any rule, for deadness aid formality will surely be 
the result ; which will soon produce bigottry and pre- 
judice. Let periodical committees, of the most holy and 
experienced brethren, (whether poor, or in a state of 
mediocrity, matters not) be chosen by the majority, to 
attend to the spiritual order, and temporal business of 
the church ; they choosing their own chairman. Friend- 
ly strangers, as well as members, to be at liberty to pro- 
phecy in meetings, but only as the spirit gives utterance, 
and to the total exclusion of controverted theology. No 
member, rich or poor, bond or free, to have the least 
pre-eminence. The committee to be totally the servants 
of the whole, to be ready always to give an account of 
their stewardship. The body to be all brothers, and 
Christ their only master ; to have no badge to proclaim 



gi6 

high, the house of the pious Priscilla, 
&c* 

These were the churches of the 
apostles, and they were themselves as 
plain, simple, and unadorned as their 
places of worship. St. Paul, worked 
at his trade for his own support, sooner 
than take the peoples' money unneces- 
sarily ; although they would have given 
him almost their very eyes. A bishop 
was then, what a president or chairman 
is now ; they were the peoples' repre- 
sentatives, the servants of all ; they re- 
ceived nothing from the church, while 
they could by any means provide for 
their own support. The money that 
could be sparedfrom the church, was for 
the support of the pious poor, the sick, 

to the world, " We are the temple of the Lord, and I 
am more holy than thou," such as the cut of a coat, or 
the idium of language. The brethren to be free to 
wear what to them seems right, but cheap apparel to be 
recommended in preference to extravagant clothes, how- 
ever plain they may be cut. What a blessed thing 
would it be, if the lovers of religious freedom, would 
establish a simple, free anti-sectarian assylum, some- 
thing like the above, which would be a light in this dark 
howling wilderness ; a city of refuge for the oppressed, 
and as the " shadow of a great rock in a weary land," 
* Rom. xvi. 5. 



317 

and the widows. They felt a delicacy 
in touching it, and nothing but stern 
necessity, could induce them to do it.' 
Their clothes were plain, their hearts 
pious, and they had no D. D's A. M's.< 
or L. L. D's. tacked to their names, but 
like their master, they abhorred all such 
abominable vanity and pride. Andl 
^specially under the cloak of religiotf. 
Header, contrast in your mind th& 
character and conduct of such ancient 
bishops, and our modern bishops, andt 
arch-bishops. In England, they are aix 
rayed in robes of state, approximating 
to royal grandeur; their titles corres* 
pouding with their magnificence : " The 
Right Rev. Father in God, Lord bishop 
of Derry," " John, by the grace of God, 
Lord bishop of London," &c. In Ame^ 
rica their salary is on the rise, as well 
as their power and honorary titles. 
The Rev. and the Right Rev. dignifi- 
ed Don's have found an improvement 
in title-making (not tent-making, like 
their pious predecessor, St. Paul.) I 
saw some time ago, an elegant portrait 
of a certain dignified clergyman, with 

T 



218 
the pompous title subjoined, "the 

MOST REV ARCH-BISHOP* OF BAL- 
TIMORE." Methinks there cannot be a 
higher grade, unless " the most high. ?? 
We shall now, in order to shew the 
mode of worship practised by the pri- 
mitive christians, quote a few verses 
from the writings of St. Paul. Even 
In the Jewish synagogues in their most 
corrupted state, the Spirit of truth had 
more liberty than in our Christian chur- 
ches. Witness our blessed Saviour, 
although he was poor and despised by 
the Jewish priests, yet he was permitted 
to speak and read the truth in their 
synagogues. Whereas, in our elegant, 
pompous churches, one Rev. man must 
say all, and that man perhaps under 
the influence of the spirit of the devil ; 
at least a spirit of pride. In order to con- 
solidate the above assertion, and shew 
the contrast between the present, and 
primitive mode of Christian worship, 
as clear as a ray of light, 1 will take the 
liberty to subjoin the subsequent note,f 

• An arch-bishop in America ! is it possible ! 
■J* And after the reading of the law and the prophets, 
the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Te 



219 

from Acts, where the liberty exercised 
In the Jewish synagogue is proved; from 
Romans,* where the diversity of gifts 
and duties of the disciples of Christ, in 
the primitive church are pointed out ; 
and from the 1 Corinthians ;f where the 

men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation 
for the people, say on. Acts xiii. 15. 

* For, as we have many members in one body, and all 
members have not the same office ; so we being many, 
are one body in Christ and every one members one of 
another. Having then gifts, different according to the 
grace that is given to us, whether prophecy let us pro- 
pbecy according to the proportion of faith ; or ministry, 
let us wait on our ministry : or he that teacheth, on 
teaching ; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation : he that 
giveth, let him do it with simplicity ; he that ru!eth, with 
diligence ; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness. 
Rom xii. 4. 8. 

f Even so ye. forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual 
gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the 
church. What is it then ? I will pray with the spi rit, 
and I will pray with the understanding also; I will sing 
with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding 
also. Yet in the church I had rather speak five words 
with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach 
others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown 
tongue. Wherefore tongues are for a sign, not to them 
that believe, but to them that believe not ; but prophesy- 
ing serveth not for them that believe not, but for them 
which believe. If, therefore, the whole church be come 
together into one place, and all speak with tongues, 
and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbe- 
lievers, will they not say that they are mad ? But if all 
prophecy, and there come in one that believeth not, or 



220 

time mode of Christian worship is dis- 
played and vindicated by St. Paul. In 
these quotations, the plainest directions 
for conducting social, and spiritual 
worship is given ; the most powerful ar- 
guments^ are adduced in favour of this 
mode, and the most judicious advice 
suggested for correcting disorders, and 
maintaining unity, and harmony, in the 
church. 

When I contrast the pious ministers 
of the people called quakers, prophe- 
cying as the spirit gives them utterance, 
with the ministers of the other sects, 
who preach what they have commit- 
ted to paper or to their memory, and 

one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of alt ; 
and thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest ; 
and so, falling down on his face, he will worship God, 
and report that God is in you of a truth. H~\\ is it 
then brethren ? when ye come together, every one of 
you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath 
a revelation, hath an interpretation Let all things be 
done unto edifying-. Let the prophets speak two or 
three, and let the other judge, li any thing be revealed 
to another that sitteth by, let the tirst hoid his peace. 
For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, 
and all may be comforted. \nd the spirits of the pro- 
phets ^re subject to the prophets. For God is not t&e 
a\uthor of confusion, b.' of peace, as in all churche.-. of 
tire saints. 1 Cor. xiv. 12, 15, 19, 22 -26, 29- 35* 



221 

that often with all the affectation of a 
pedagogue, I will not say with the elo- 
quence and energy of a play-actor, 
and when I hear these same preachers 
pray before their sermons, that God 
would inspire them by his Holy spirit, 
with the word of life, and indite both 
matter and manner; when all the 
time they have it prepared before hand, 
and systematically divided and subdi- 
vided, I can but wonder at their hypo- 
crisy and the stupidity and servility of 
their hearers. Thick darkness surely 
must rest upon their minds, or they 
would see the folly in paying their 
ungodly preachers, (who take up the 
trade of priest for pay, and begin their 
occupation by the most abominable and 
blasphemous lie ; namely, that they are 
moved by the Holy ghost to preach the 
gospel ; when perhaps they do not be- 
lieve in a Holy ghost at all) from 1,000 
to 10,000 dollars per annum, to be godly 
and to lead them to heaven. Is it any 
wonder then, that I am sick of hearing 
the parrot language of such wordly wise 
preachers, and that I bear a testimony 
t % 



222 

against them ; nay, but it is rather a won- 
der that the stones in the street, do not 
cry out against them. 



The present method of Christian wor- 
ship, 

IN EUROPE- 

A most elegant church, built like a 
palace, ornamented with magnificent 
pictures and sculptured gold, in the 
centre of which, a superb pulpit in the 
shape of a throne is erected ; at the ex- 
tremity of which, is a most beautiful al- 
tar, ornamented with flowers of gold, and 
silver candlesticks. The pontiff makes 
his entry from an adjoining apartment, 
with all the majesty of a demigod ; his 
head adorned with a mitre studded 
with jewels, more splendid than an im- 
perial diadem ; his body arrayed with 
sacerdotal robes, interwoven with gold 
and precious stones, and supported by 
a golden girdle ; he mounts the altar, 
und says prayers in Latin, a language 
the people do not understand. Those 



223 

who hear the precious name of Jesus 
mentioned with indifference, bow down 
at the approach of his holiness with all 
lowliness ; who, after the ceremonies of 
the church are over, mounts his fiery 
steed, most richly caparisoned, the king 
of France holding the stirrup while he 
mounts ; and with the loud plaudits of 
the wondering, cheated, priest-ridden 
multitude, he, with his princely retinue, 
marches in pomp to his magnificent pa- 
lace. It is well known, that the kings 
of France formerly held the stirrup, 
while the pope mounted his horse ; yet 
these fellows are called the legitimate 
successors of the poor, plain, pious 
fisherman St. Peter, and (rod's vice- 
gerents on earth. 

Another elegant church of an oppo- 
site persuasjpn, built according to the 
Corinthian order of architecture : no 
pictures, but much guilt sculpture : the 
pulpit most magnificent, and creeled 
like a throne all fringed with gold ; a 
college manufactured parson (the arch- 
bishops seldom condescending to offi- 
ciate) with his ministerial black silk 



224 

gpwn and eambrick band, mounts the 
pulpit with a skip, and after reading a 
sermon, which perhaps he never wrote, 
skips out again ; and with a well-bred 
bow, and a polite whisper,* concludes 
what is called the worship of God in 
the church of Christ : Reader, it would 
sicken you to read, and me to write an 
account of the different ludicrous modes 
of worship adopted by above six hun- 
dred different sects in ChristendQm. 

IN AMERICA. 

I will, in a few words give the reader 
a view of some of the modes of wor- 
ship, adopted by religionists in Ame- 
rica, which I have personally witness- 

* Cervantes wrote his " Don Quixote, " in order to 
abolish by ridicule the ridiculous kifight-errantry or 
chivalry of Spain; and he succeeded. If nothing 
else can effect it, I hope some modern Don Quixote 
may be written, to abolish the present ridiculous 
mode of worship adopted by most denominations. 
As I intend to enlarge this little performance, if I 
live. I will in the next edition, introduce a long quo- 
tation from "Burrough's Memoir," (the famous 
counterfeiter) who passed himsefasa salary minis- 
ter, and a great divine, on different congregations in 
New England, incog. 



225 

fed. I one day called at a certain 
magnificent church in Philadelphia, 
adorned with superb sculpture, the pul- 
pit erected between two pillars, hung 
round with crimson velvet, and fring- 
ed with gold. The minister appealed 
in spangled robes of the most costly 
cloth ; he said his prayers in Latin, 
while the organ responsed the solemn 
sound : the little boys sung, (as I used 
to do) "Deo Gratia!" But what asto- 
nished me more than all, and what I 
never saw before, although I have 
visited three quarters of the globe, 
was the appearance of a dignified in- 
dividual, called a Right Reverend 
bishop, appearing in the most brilliant 
robes I ever beheld, with a golden 
cross on his breast, and a superb cap 
on his head, in the shape of those worn 
by St. Patrick, as represented in pic- 
tures. He was seated in a chair of 
state, under a grand canopy surmount- 
ed with gold. A flood of interesting 
thoughts crowded in upon my mind, 
on beholding this ecclesiastical exhibi- 
tion ; but I make no comment, as I con- 



226 

ceive it will answer no purpose : only 
I beg the reader impartially to contrast 
these modern modes of worship, with 
the apostolic modes ; for, most assured- 
ly, either one or the other must be 
radically erroneous ; because, they are 
as opposite to one another, as light is 
to darkness, or heaven to hell. 

1 will give another instance of cler- 
ical grandeur. — I was passing by an 
elegant church one sabbath day in this 
city, and I called in to see the magni- 
ficent sculpture, and to hear the more 
magnificent pulpit orator; of a differ- 
ent persuasion from the former. The 
reader may judge of the grandeur of 
the ehurcih, when I inform him, that 
the gingerbread work alone cost &0,000 
dollars ! which a respectable carpenter 
informed me was a fact. The minister, 
arrayed as usual, in sacerdotal silk 
and cambrick, was reading his dis- 
course in a pulpit like a throne, sur- 
mounted with a flying eagle overlaid 
with gold. But what surprised me 
most, was the orator's not taking his 
eyes from his written sermon for one 



227 

minute at a time ! so much was he infe- 
rior to a school-boy, who commits his 
speech to memory. I have to lay down 
my pen, and lift up my hands with as- 
tonishment, at the blindness of the peo- 
ple, who endure such bare-faced impo- 
sition ! But charity forbids me to say 
what more might be said with the 
strictest truth. 

We will now speak of the modern 
modes of worship, more consistent with 
truth than the former ; but will mention 
no names. And first — a pious minister 
makes an appointment to preach at a 
certain time and place ; perhaps, at the 
time of his making the appointment he 
was in the gift, and prepared to preach 
with the power and demonstration of 
the Spirit ; but in the intermediate time., 
clouds and darkness cover his pros- 
pects ; and, at the very time he is to 
fulfil his appointment, perhaps he is in 
heaviness, through manifold tempta- 
tions, and he seems divested both of 
spiritual life and liberty ; yet this man 
must mount the pulpit, sing and pray, 
then preach, and then sing and pray 



228 

again. Hence, while the preacher is 
thus chained by the tyranny of custom, 
the people attend their church in vain : 
whereas, perhaps at the same time this 
minister was delivering his forced dis- 
course to his drowsy congregation, 
some of the dear saints of God who 
were necessitated to hear him, were 
ready to burst with the true word of 
life, for want of an opportunity to bear 
a testimony for God, The Spirit com- 
mands them to speak for God — if they 
should obey its mental voice, the elder's 
and deacons immediately rise, and 
make them walk out of their church 
faster than they ever came into it. 
Sometimes I have heard even good men 
preach, who did not believe, that the 
Spirit of truth alone could dictate the 
matter which should be suggested, and 
which only would be useful. Their 
proud hearts cannot abide the simple 
language, and the pure and pointed 
truth which the Spirit inculcates on 
those ministers, who are obedient to its 
still small voice. Little do they think, 
that a true minister of Christ is in his 



22 



i) 



hands, the same as a speaking trumpet 
in the hands of a captain of a ship. 
Sometimes the Lord works a miracle, 
in order to deliver such ministers from 
their anti-christian method of preach- 
ing, by causing them to forget, even in 
the pulpit, both their text, and the ex- 
position of it, so that they have to speak 
as the Spirit dictates to them, or not at 
all. As a certain preacher, who had 
chosen his text, premeditated his ser- 
mon, and had it divided aud subdivid- 
ed in the usual flowery style. When 
lie stood up before the people to give 
out his text, it was totally snatched 
from him; when, lo! he was under the 
necessity of praying sincerely to God, 
to give him something to say, that 
would be useful to the people. He 
then spoke of the miraculous deliver- 
ance of the three Hebrews from the 
fiery furnace ; which was applied with 
power and comfort to one of his hearers, 
who was ready to sink into despair, on 
account of a fiery trial she laboured 
under at that time. 



230 

I shall close these hasty sponta- 
neous remarks, which are only the 
outlines of a subject I intend to en- 
large upon at some future period, after 
I address a thought to the Christian 
church, who are truly evangelical in 
their mode of social worship, in some 
very essential parts ; but why should 
they stop at the threshold of reforma- 
tion. They oppose very justly, modern 
Episcopacy, because it is in a spiritual 
sense, what absolute monarchy is in a 
temporal sense. But I contend, elder- 
ship will amount to the same thing 
among them in time, and they will find 
it so. One man putting his hand upon 
another, and telling him he is ordained^ 
is very innocent in itself, but very des- 
tructive in its tendency; it gives the 
priest an opportunity to monopolize 
power, chain the spirit of Christ, sup- 
port the anti-christian apostacy,* and 

* Take the primitive church as a body, their wor- 
ship was pure, and their principles were correct, not- 
withstanding the periodical intrusion of the Pharisaic 
professors, and the itenerant influence of contempti- 
ble partizans, for 300 years; till Constantine the Great, 
from hitman policy, became a Christian himself/(at 



281 

destroy all liberty in social worship. 
Again, should they not abolish all 
controverted points in theology, in order 

least in name) and connected the Roman state and 
the religion of Christ together, like a lion ard a lamb. 
This unnatural association has been the fruitful source 
of innumerable evils, both spiritual and temporal, to 
the total destruction of millions of the human family. 
Then, indeed, the worship of God was changed from 
the simple and pious mode we have already suggest- 
ed, to the magnificent and carnel method observable in 
the present age. The ministers of Christ then became 
the parazites and partizans of the Roman court; their 
simple mode of worship was abrogated, and a pom- 
pous method adopted to suit the pride of kings The 
ambition of the priests, became equal to that of the 
Roman emperor. From bishops they were advanced 
to arch-bishops, with corresponding titles, honours, 
and revenues ; from that to cardinals, and from that 
to popes, whose power and grandeur was superior to 
the kings of the earth. 

No tongue can tell the multitudes that were put to 
death for conscience sake, by these bloody priests, and 
bishops. Indeed, more were destroyed by fire and 
faggots by the Romans, after they w^re, to all appear- 
ance Christianized, than before ; and I am sorry to 
have it to say, that the spirit of bigotry by which 
they were actuated, was not destroyed at the refor- 
mation, nor their anti-christian mode of worship abro- 
gated; for we find the Protestants reading their formal 
prayers and moral sermons in their superb churches, 
arrayed in sacerdotal silk and cambrick. The Luthc- 
rians, when they became powerful, also put many of 
their fellow-creatures to death, who would not be- 
lieve as they did; nor were the Calvinists much behind 
them, when cloathed with power. And the Dissen 



233 

to support harmony and union, and 
render it an anti-sectarian assylum for 
all who believe in Christ? Well, but 

ters when in authority, put others to death for conr 
science sake. Even in America, they caused innocent 
Quakers to be put to death, for preaching the gospel 
without money and without price. 

The reader will have a full account of these melan- 
choly facts, by reading the book of Martyrs. Indeed, 
the present state of che Christian church is more be- 
nighted and corrupted in my view, than the Jewish 
church was at the birth of Christ, although no doubt 
many good men will not see as I do, in this respect: 
like as Zachariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna and Na- 
thaniel did not see the great corruption of the Jewish 
priest-hood, although truly pious people ; so millions 
in this age will not see the dreadful gulph of delusion, 
into which almost the whole Christian world is en- 
veloped. How different now is its state, from that 
"which the antecedent scripture quotations proves it 
was. Then there were no dignified titles, honours, 
or revenues. But, says the priest-ridden advocate of 
bishopricks, there were bishops even in the apostolic 
age? I grant there were, but mark the dissimilarity be- 
tween them and their pretended successors in Europe 
and America. Then a bishop had no more power than 
a chairman of a private society; and as for salary, he 
had no more (unless he had no means of support) 
than St. Paul, who worked for his living sooner than 
be a charge to the church of God, and yet preached 
continually, and went about like his divine master, 
doing good by every possible means. They were, in 
short, according to our blessed Saviour's particular 
charge, the servants and not the lords of God's heri- 
tage. A bishop in England has about g 50,000 per 
annum, forced from the mouth of labour; he lives in 



233 

says one, if all should have liberty in 
our meetings, it would produce confu- 
sion ! This is false. If they follow the 

princely elegance, rides in a gui'ded chariot, drawn 
by four beautiful horses ; and perhaps condescends to 
read a sermon twice in the year, but employs a few 
journeymen parsons, at fifty pounds per annum, to fulfil 
his own lack of service. An arch-bishop, has about 
<fc 100.000 per annum, lives in greater style, but labours 
Jess, if less can be for the glory of God. and the good of 
souls. And yet there are people who support these luzy 
doctors of divinity, and think it right so to do, nor will 
be convinced to the contrary 

These reverend Dons vindicate with all their elo- 
quence the cause of kings, because kings help to support 
them: in short, they both live in pomp and grandeur on 
the fleece, and the devil may take the flock for what 
they care. Really, when I view with my mind's eye the 
billions who have been tortured to death, and the mil- 
lions who are now kept in intellectual darkness^ to sup- 
port the power and pride, of priest-crafr, and king-craft, 
I long to die and leave this wretched world, teeming 
with villainy and oppression, behind. What is it but 
this intellectual darkness, with which mankind are in- 
veloped by their wicked priests, that makes them so 
much like the devil; diffusing the misery they sutler, 
shooting one another for pay; cheating, and being 
cheated; robbing, and being robbed; deceiving/and being 
deceived; assassinating, and bemg assassinated; plung- 
ing their fellow sufferers into hell, and precipitating 
themselves thereunto after them. But the dreadful pic- 
ture of wretchedness, personified, is too gloomy for the 
eye of humanity to behold. 

As our limits will not admit us to enlarge much more, 
we will a little farther point out, the last church of* 
• • v2 



S3* 

apostolic rule, one to speak, and the 
rest to judge, if lie spoke with the spi- 
rit. Not only order might be preserved, 

Christ, and the last persecution of that church previous 
to the Millennium. It will in short, be pure and perfect, 
as the primitive church, and like it, will, I believe, he, 
persecuted with signal cruelty ; their number will be ve- 
ry few, and their persecutors exceedingly many : they 
will have no articles of faith, creeds or discipline, but 
the New Testament, no party names or distinctions 
among them. The reader will see the simplicity, and 
purity of this church delineated in the antecedent scrip- 
ture quotations, and an idea of the persecution of it may 
be ascertained by viewing the book of martyrs. This 
pure church will bear a faithful testimony against the 
very corrupt systems of religion then in the world; all 
of the different sects, consequently, will conspire agains| 
them, to extirpate them from the face of the earth; but 
their enemies will not prevail. Hence, they will con- 
tinue a ptfre, though a small clturch of Christ on the 
earth, even till he comes to reign a thousand years with, 
his beloved" saints. 

A word to the Missionary and Bible Societies — I ad« 
mire your labour of love, but I lament, that while you 
send missionaries to convert the Asiatic and Indians, 
you totally neglect your own miserable population; tens 
of thousands of whom are going to hell, in our lanes and 
alleys, garrets and cellars, and none of you will call 
them to repentance. Let then this important duty be 
attended to by one department of your excellent associa- 
tion, or organize a society for the express purpose. 

And you Gentlemen Members of the Bible Society.—* 
That invaluable book, put into the hands or' those who 
are not spiritually enlightened, will be like throwing 
pearls before swine ; they will only sell them for 



UBS 

deadncss and formality avoided, and if 
there was one spark of spiritual life 
among the brethren, that spark would not 

whiskey, and curse you for your pains. Wherefore, 
encourage the establishment of the above society, to 
£© to the lanes and alleys, and illuminate through di- 
vine aid the minds of the miserable with a ray from 
lieaven ; then they will prise that blessed book above 
all price, and will bless you in life and death for your 
s;uper-eminent philanthropy. 

A mtord to those who may be convinced by these precipe 
tatt, desultory and untranscribed remarks. — Should you 
let a man-fearing, or a man-pleasing spirit, hinder you 
from bearing a faithful testimony to the truth as it is 
in Jesus, when you are enlightened by his spirit to sec 
tt, rest assured, you will find him also ashamed of you, 
before his Father, and the holy angels. Likewise re- 
member, at the times of your ignorance, God winks; 
t>ut when he illuminates your mind, to see the truth, if 
you receive it not in the love of it, God will send you 
Strong delusions, that you may believe a lie and be 
damned, because you take pleasure in unrighteous- 
ness. Behold, therefore, the gulf before you, and be- 
ware of the latent danger ! Although I have already 
exceeded my limits, I must ask my sectarian reader 
ft few reasonable questions before I conclude: and, O 
answer them, as you will wish you had done, when 
you appear at the bar of God ! How can you content 
yourself, to be imposed upon in matters that concern 
you most. If you lose your horse, your house, your 
wife, your honour, your respectability, or even your 
natural life, they are all nothing, when compared to 
your precious soul : how then can you agree to pay, 
*>r assist in paying a lazy, idle, ungodly parson, 2,000 
•Jollars per annum, to teach you to be godly ; you very 
Itfll kjioirj " if 4be blind lead the blind, they will 



236 

be smothered, as it is in almost all so- 
cieties at present, but would be mani- 
fested for the edification of all, and 

both fall into the ditch together." Is it not down- 
right swindling, that a man with a tale to his name, 
D. D. and a silk gown on his back as a badge of his 
literary talents, theological knowledge, and proud 
pre-eminence, should notwithstanding, be such a lazy 
drone, as not to commit his Sunday sermon to memory 
during the week, and repeat it to his priest-ridden au- 
ditory, extempore, for 2,000 dollars per annum — 
When play-actors, for 300 dollars per annum, commit 
four times as much matter to memory in a week, and 
repeat it to their audience with energy and eloquence, 
without once looking at their written notes, as many 
reverend and right reverend divines always do. O 
*how gross must be the darkness on the people's minds, 
who cannot, or rather will not see the absurdity and 
inconsistency of such conduct. Again, does not these 
ministers, who pray to display their sublime language 
and well ordered periods, and sing more for the sake 
of the music in the church, than from a principle of 
gratitude to God ; 1 say, are they not with, their delu- 
ded hearers, guilty of a breach of the second com- 
mandment, every time they mention the name of the 
Lord in their hymns ? Do they not take his name in 
vain ? Again, even in societies, who preach and do 
not read their sermons and prayers, yet if they preach . r 
without the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, do they not -* v 
support the anti-christian apostacy, and are .they not 
a branch of that accursed tree that has poisoned mil- V 
lions of the deluded sons of men ? 

I will go farther, and ask — Do they not bind the, 
spirit of Christ in their meetings, with an adamantine 
chain, alias, the tyranny of custom? Most assuredly 
they do. For instance, every experienced saint, welj. 



§37 

might be kindled to a flame. The fact 
is, rich men should never have authority 
in the church of Christ; if they do, they 
undoubtedly banish by their fatal in- 
flue nee the spirit of Christ. There- 
fore^ periodical chairmen, or commit- 
tees, should be chosen of the holiest, 

icnaus, that there are times in which they can neither 
preach nor pray with the demonstration of the Spirit^ 
because, perhaps they are in heaviness through manifold 
temptations, or have been led from the path of evan- 
gelical rectitude, by unwatchfulness or surprise. In? 
deed, there are many causes I might assign for this va-~ 
Ration in the experience of a true saint. Yet the minis- 
ter who gives out his appointment a week, or a month 
before hand, must preach at all events, prepared or un- 
prepared ; and while he is delivering his forced head 
termon, perhaps some pious saint in the meeting, is sti- 
mulated by the Spirit of truth, to bear a faithful testimo- 
ny for Jesus, that would be full of life and love; but he 
dare not, he must not, interrupt the order of Constantine 
emperor of Home, I mean the anti-chnstian apostacy ; 
of course, the lambs areoften lean and perish for lack of 
spiritual food. Surely preaching, however eloquent, ifc 
rio better than play-acting, if it is not dictated by the 
Spirit of Christ, and if the minister docs not speak like 
the apostles, as the spirit gives him utterance. This is 
the naked truth, although not one in millions will receive 
it as such. But woe, woe, woe be unto him who is en- 
lightened to see these truths, and yet, who supports tire 
opposite error ; it would be well for him, he never had 
been born. His light will be turned to darkness, and 
_j]ut darkness will be great. 



238 

and not the richest men in a meeting, to 
keep order and harmony in the church. 
Indeed, a man who accumulates all 
the riches he can, and keeps what he 
accumulates, is a bad steward ; yea, a 
thief and a robber, because he robs 
God, his church, and his poor ; profess 
what he may : and yet such men are at 
the head of every society, and are their 
primary dictators. Such men are fond 
of bishops and elders, because they can 
rule the roast between them, better than 
they can separately. Where the spirit 
of the Lord rules there is liberty, but 
where rich men rule there must be sla- 
very. Although rich men and minis- 
ters, who pant for power, raise such a 
hue-and-cry, in favour of eldership or 
ordination in the church, I do contend, 
that although the apostles conveyed the 
most essential blessings by the laying 
on of their hands, even the gift of the 
Holy Ghost, and that of ordination, as 
administered by them, was of the first 
utility; yet as that power departed from 
the church at the anti-ehristian apostacy, 



239 

after that lamentable period, the laying 
on of hands was, and is only an empty 
form ; I wish it was no more. It is the 
most fatal auxiliary of hell, and the 
main pillar of priest-craft Because, by 
the artful eloquence of the cunning 
priests, the people believe that there 
can be no true ministers, but those who 
have been ordained by the laying on 
of the bishop's or arch-bishop ? s hands ; 
so, if a poor pious man is called by the 
spirit to preach the gospel, and he 
proves obedient thereunto, (if not col- 
lege bred,) these dignified dons ex- 
communicate him from their church, as 
a sinner of the first magnitude. The 
fact is, the succession of the apostolic 
power of ordination, was as effectually 
abrogated at the anti-christian apostacy, 
in the reign of the Emperor Constan- 
tine, as the hereditary succession of the 
house of Bourbon to the throne of 
France, was annihilated at the new 
dynasty of Bonaparte ; or, as the ope- 
ration of a man ceases, when death 
seizes him. * 



I have attempted to conclude the$6 
simple spontaneous strictures, sundry 
times, but new thoughts occurred to my 
inind, which I was not at liberty to pass 
by, although I well know by publish- 
ing them, I shall accumulate more ene- 
mies, already numerous, and greatly in- 
jure my own interest as an author, and 
perhaps endanger my life. But it seems 
iny indispensible duty, to bear a repeat- 
ed testimony against that horrible wick- 
edness, so destructive to both soul and 
body, and with which Christendom 
abounds, I mean priest-craft ; and more 
so, because I know of nobody (my pious 
friend Gates excepted) who is willing 
faithfully to do it. Few, alas! receive the 
pure truth in the love of it, and fewer 
Have resolution to bear a testimony in 
favour of it in this dark and gloomy age, 
and especially if they are sectarians, 
for they must support their party; or if 
they prophecy against them, they are 
excommunicated, and few love the truth 
sufficiently to suffer excommunicatioit 
for its sake, and the enmity "of ail 
men. 



341 

I believe there are pious pastors and 
people in all denominations,* who do 
not see or know the truth in these points ; 
and at the time of their ignorance 
God winks. But when He by some 
powerful means, exhibits before their 
intellectual eyes the truth, and they view 
it, and yet support the opposite error, 
1 again repeat, woe, woe, woe be unto 
them ! ! For if God sent the ancients 
strong delusions that they might believe 
a lie and be damned, because thev would 
not receive the truth, in the love of it ; 
will He be so partial as to exempt us 
from this dreadful punishment, when 
we are guilty of the same crime, and of 
course support its fatal concomitants ; 
and yet are blessed with a thousand 
opportunities to gain spiritual informa- 

*I repeat this sentiment (humbly begging the 
reader to pardon the tautology) because I well know 
the cry, will be raised against me, u That fellow 
contemns all christians, and thinks himself only right." 
This is far from truth, I abhor, I despise myself more 
than any body else can, because God has opened my 
intellectual eyes to see the bottomless guiph of depra- 
vity and corruption in my nature ; hence I abhor my- 
self, and repent in dust and ashes. 
C 



242 

tion, where the ancients were with one. 
It is impossible. I expect I shall not 
live to see the small, pure, and perse- 
cuted church of Christ, delineated in 
these pages, which he will call out of all 
the corrupt denominations, who will 
continue to grow more corrupt till the 
Millennium. 

Hence, when Christ comes again to 
his people, although he will find little 
faith in the world, that little will be 
very pure. John saw in vision, this 
remnant of the true church "standing 
as it were on a pure sea of glass min- 
gled with fire, and them that had gotten 
the victory over the beast anti-christ, 
and over his image, and over his mark, 
and over the number of his name," all 
the anti- christian denominations " stand 
on the sea of glass," the pure truth 
" having the harps of God," the su- 
preme love of God, which only tunes 
the harps of the holy angels. Lord 
hasten the happy period when error and 
consequent misery will be exterminated 
from the earth ; when thy pure truth 
will be promulgated and received from 



243 

its centre, to its circumference. When 
a pacific confederation will be elected 
by every nation, appointing a delegate 
to settle amicably any dispute that 
might originate between them, and of 
course remove the cause and effects of 
that dreadful scourge of man, War. 
Finally, when our precious Emmanuel 
will become the king of nations, as he 
is now the king of saints. 

It will no doubt be asked, " How 
can any association be formed, without 
some form or rule ?" I have endeavour- 
ed to shew this in one of our antecedent 
notes ; but in order to make it more 
plain, if possible, I would again ob- 
serve, that even two or three of the 
liberal, enlightened, spiritual, but per- 
secuted servants of Christ, who are an- 
ti-sectarians indeed and in truth, might 
associate to form an anti- sectarian as- 
sylum, for the innocent off-casts and 
oppressed of all sects. The form of 
their union and association to be sim- 
ply to this effect : — 

WE, the undersigned, do unite in a 
free, anti-sectarian, social band, for the 



J44 



purpose of comforting one anothe^ and 
bearing one another s burthens : and we 
do solemnly agree, forevvith to take the 
New Testament for our rule, the Spi- 
rit for our guide, and Christ for our 
only Master. The only pre-requisite 
to become a member, is faith in and 
union with Christ, and a firm belief in 
the inspiration of his holy Spirit. Per- 
sons who thus believe can be united in 
this meeting, though their opinions on 
controverted theology may be ever so 
diversified : provided always, those 
opinions be not by any man advanced in 
public meetings, which no doubt would 
destroy the unity of the brethren. As 
we believe preaching to be no better 
than haranguing, and singing hymns not 
half so good as singing songs, (especi- 
ally if the awful name of God is men- 
tioned in iho»e hymns) if they are not 
inspired by the good Spirit, and come 
from the heart: We therefore agree 
to be led only by the holy Spirit in our 
meetings, whether in prohesying, 
teaching, exhortations, psalms and 
godly hymns, or reading the Scrip- 



M5 

tures. Although we establish no peri- 
odical meeting, for celebrating the out- 
ward ordinances of the gospel, yet the 
minority or any part of them, conscien- 
tiously stimulated thereunto, shall have 
full liberty to participate any of them 
plainly pointed out in Scripture, and 
exactly according to the primitive 
mode, in a select meeting, when and 
where they choose ; one part of the bre- 
thren not reflecting on the other for par- 
taking or not partaking the said ordi- 
nances. We solemnly bind ourselves 
not even to mention this spirit of 
bigotry, which kindled the fires in 
which millions of the martyrs were 
consumed. Committees to be chosen 
by vote, of the most holy and experi 
enced of the brethren, to attend to the 
spiritual order and temporal business 
of the church, according to the apos- 
tolic rule. 

In witness whereof 

We hereunto subscribe 

our names , i^c. 
The above I apprehend would be a 
sufficient compact, which would answer 
x 2 



£46 

every purpose^ being comprehensive., 
though concise ; and on some such libe- 
ral plan will the last church of Christ 
be established, prior to the commence- 
ment of the millennium ; and I believe 
will be as perfect and as pure, as 
the primitive church was in its purest 
state. It will be truly said of them, 
a Here are they that keep the command- 
ments of God, and the faith of Jesus " 
This precious band (I will again re- 
peat) will bear a faithful and candid 
testimony against all hireling ministers, 
and system worshippers, regardless 
of consequent persecution, A]id they, 
like Demetrius, finding their craft, by 
which they lived upon the labours, and 
trampled upon the rights of man, is in 
danger of being set at naught, and their 
magnificent persons and forms of reli- 
gion, which they caused so many mil- 
lions to worship, to be exhibited to 
popular animadversion and contempt, 
will no doubt stir up their votaries to 
persecute, and if possible, annihilate 
these precious saints of God, as wicked 
heretics and schismatics : but by their 



patience and meekness, they will con* 
quer even their enemies ; and it will be 
proverbial at that interesting period, 
" Here is the patience of the saints." 
St. John thus prophetically declares: 
V And I saw the beast, and the kings 
pf the earth, and their armies gathered 
together, to make war against him that 
sat upon the horse and his army/* alias, 
Christ and his little flock. They had 
commeuced this war from the begin- 
ning, and carried it on with different 
degrees of cruelty, in different periods 
of the world. But now, as they are in 
great danger of being overcome by the 
faithful testimony gone forth against 
them : sinners in general, and bigoted 
sectarians in particular, will make one 
grand effort to support their supersti- 
tious forms of worship, ajid their illibe- 
ral contracted partition walls, alias, 
articles, homilies, disciplines, &c, 
which they esteem more than the pure 
truth. Hut the beast will be taken ; the 
anti, christian establishments ; and with 
it th& false prophets, alias, clerical 
impostors ? who proselyte for gain, au<$ 



S48 

preach for pay ; and also their bigoted 
and servile worshippers and supporters. 
And then will the true church of Christ 
blossom as the rose. 

I would beg leave to illustrate our 
arguments, by a quotation from my 
friend Theophilus Ii. Gates's "Truth 
Advocated." 

" Very different, truly, now, is the 
state of things in the religious world, 
to what it was in the days of the apos- 
tles. There was then no dignified ti- 
tles, or elevated stations among the 
children of God : no separate parties ; 
but all of one heart and one mind ; and 
if, at any of their assemblies, any thing 
was revealed or communicated to one's 
mind by the spirit of grace, he could 
rise up and testify it to his brethren 
without going through a college educa- 
tion, or being regularly ordained, and 
felt free to do it as often as the spirit of 
God commanded him, without being 
paid for it, five, ten or eighteen hundred 
dollars a year. Yea, sooner than be 
burdensome to their poor brethren, they 
wbuld labour with their own hands to 



S49 

provide necessaries for them ; and so 
great was their love to the souls of men, 
that they would put their lives in their 
hands, eudure patiently all manner of 
persecutions, and suffer hunger and 
nakedness to do them good, and pro- 
mote the cause of their Lord and Mas* 
ter. 

" A tenacious adherence to some 
particular points of doctrine or belief, 
as though one's salvation turned upon 
them, however foreign to religion, or 
our acceptance with God, has been a 
fruitful source of evil in the Christian 
world, as many well know. This is 
truly the Apocalyptic Beast ; with 
its image, or together with its establish- 
ed rules and form of worship in the 
church of Rome, it hath occasioned the 
death of tens of thousands, and the ve- 
ty same beast, with its image, in pro- 
testant churches, hath persecuted, ex- 
communicated, imprisoned, banished 
or put to death, many hundreds of the 
followers of the Lamb. Witness the 
twelve years imprisonment of John 
Bunyan, and the hundreds confined in 



250 

jails, throughout England, for not con- 
forming to the established religion ! And 
among ourselves to the present day, 
what contention, strife, persecution, ani- 
mosity and evil speaking, one against 
another, doth it occasion ! 

" If the Lord should come to any 
one in his usual employment, and com- 
mand him by his spirit, to go and pro- 
phesy at a certain place, as he did to 
Amos, like him he would be with- 
stood by the priest there, especially if 
he did not speak things to suit them. 
Read Amos 7th Chapter. In the iirst 
place, he would probably be asked, 
what society he belonged to, or if he 
was licensed or ordained. If, like un- 
to Amos, he were constrained to reply, 
lie " was no prophet, neither a pro- 
phet's son," neither educated nor 
brought up for the ministry ; " but an 
herd man, and a gatherer of sycamore 
fruit," or one that had been accustom- 
ed to labour in the field, and could only 
say, that the " Lord took" him as he 
"followed" his employment, and com- 
manded him to go and prophesy., or, 



25L 

speak at tbat place, he might expect 6hje 
established minister there would say to 
him, as Amaziah the established priest 
at Bethel said to Amos, " O thou seer ? 
go, flee thee away into the land of Ju- 
dah, and there eat bread, and prophecy 
there ;" or go to some other neighbour- 
hood or place, and there stay and pro- 
phesy. " But prophesy not again any 
more at Bethel; for it is the king's 
chapel, and it is the king's court :" or 
attempt not to preach any more at this 
place ; we are of such a society ; this is 
my meeting-house ; and thepeople be- 
long to my congregation. No regard 
would be paid to any thing the Lord 
had commanded him. 

" I had a striking proof of this last 
spring, in Georgetown : applying for 
permission to speak there, in one of 
their meeting-houses, though many of 
the people were somewhat acquainted 
with me, were friendly to me, and I 
may add, I believe had not a doubt 
respecting the uprightness of my moral 
conduct, or the purity of my motives ,; 
yet thoy could not let me dispense fhe 



253 

word of grace there, only because I 
did not belong to their society, not to 
any regularly established church or 
society." \ 




V&$5& 



I am authorised by my friend and agent 
E. Johnson, to inform his friends, that abont 
the latter end of the year, he hopes to be ena- 
bled to present them with the « History of his 
LifeJ' 



THE CHARMS 

OF 

BENEVOLENCE, 

AND 

PATRIOTIC MENTOR; 

OR, 

THE RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES 

OF 

REP UBLICJJTISM, 

CONTRASTED WITH 
THE WRONGS AND USURPATIONS 

OF MONARCHY./ 

FIFTH EDITION,, WITH ADDITIONS. 

Freedom's the pearl of life ! the poor man's store, 
But life is death !! when freedom is no more ! ! ! 



PHILADELPHIA, 

PUBLISHED FOR W. SPENCE,AND E, JONES, Baltimore. 



181*. 



CONTENTS. 



T: Concise Strictures on the cogent necessity, 0/ 
the National and State Legislatures, establishing 
Patriotic Seminaries of learning, in the centre of 
their respective jurisdictions ; as recommended by 
the President of the United States : Considered as 
the most effectual means to consolidate the palla- 
dium of our Independence, viz. the union of the 
States; for " United we stand, but divided w Jail" 

II. Brief remarks on the importance of the Science 
of Physiognomy ; with appropriate Extracts from 
the Works of the celebrated Lavater. Particu- 
larly intended as a guard to young people, while 
choosing Matrimonial and Mercantile partners, and 
travelling Companions. 

III. An Essay on the excellency of establishing Be- 
nevolent Institutions, for the temporal relief and 
Spiritual consolation of the Sick Poor. Exempli- 
fied in the great utility of the " Female Hospitable 
Society/' and the " Philadelphia Society for Alle- 
viating the miseries of Indigent Sick Persons." 

IV. The Beauties of the " Rights of Man," introduc- 
ed in concise but comprehensive Sections. Intend- 
ed to inspire the Adults as well as the youth of the 
American Republic with an ardent love of Liberty, 
Virtue and Independence. Most respectfully dedi- 
cated to the Federal and Democratic votaries of 
Republicanism. 



PREFACE, 



Some veaders may say, that there is no connection 
between the words benevolence and republicanism; 
and consequently, that tht sotind of the preceding 
title is nor an echo to the sense of the performance. 
But from this opinion I beg leave to dissent. In my 
v\e\v .republicanism and benevolence, as also wmnarcAy and 
usurpation, are synonimous terms. Indeed, the third 
department is the best part of the book, and lies nearest 
my heart ; and I do fondly hope and earnestly pray, 
that philanthropic readers yet unborn, may be stimulated 
by the arguments in that benevolent department, to or- 
ganize charitable institutions, which will prove a bles- 
sing to thousands of the children of affliction, when the 
hand that is now writing these lines is inactive in the 
grave, and the eyes that are now perusing them are set 
in death, and the present generation are all wrapped iftk 
the cold embraces of the tomb. 

I well know, that the selfish and parsimonious, 
will excuse themselves from encouraging such bene- 
volent institutions, by the hackneyed exclamation, 
*' I can visit the sick myself, without joining or en* 
couraging societies for that purpose." This subter- 
fuge is so pitiful, that it does hot merit an answer. 
On the same principle, all our banks and other mo- 
nied institutions, as well as our fire Companies, and 
associations for personal benefit, ought to be abrogat- 
ed. Since we are more liable to neglect the duties or 
philanthropy than our personal concernments, sure- 
ly then, spiritual institutions are more worthy of en- 
couragement by the pious, than temporal ones by the 



profane. Indeed, we are encouraged by the apostle 
to associate for the laudable purpose of ** provoking 
one another to love and good works," because with 
such sacrifices our benevolent Creator is well pleased. 
In short, to ameliorate the Condition of our afflicted 
fellow-citizens, as well as to befriend the stranger, 
relieve the orphan, and comfort the widow, is the 
indispensable duty, as well as the privilege of every 
true republican. Was my power equal to my will, 
such benevolent institutions as I recommend in this 
work, should be established in every city and sea- 
port town in the United States. The utility and ne- 
cessity of the first department will appear obvious to 
the meanest capacity. Although the great men, the 
mighty men, and the rich men of our country, may 
treat this department with the paralyzing frown of 
neglect; because it is introduced by a plebeian with- 
out a tail to his name ; yet I am persuaded, posterity 
will do me ample justice ; because they will prove by 
sad experience, if my advice is neglected, that I have 
sounded neither an untimely or uncertain alarm, nor 
given an unnecessary or impolitic caution. For it is my 
firm belief, that the destroyer of the last remains of re- 
publicanism on earth, will emerge from one of our own 
tory universities : nay, perhaps this very moment an 
infantile Buonaparte may be nurturing there, who, in 
following years, will subvert the liberties of the Amer- 
ican republic, as Napolean did those of the French 
republic ; and thus alas I exterminate from the face 
of the earth, the last remains of civil liberty. With 
respect to the second department, all 1 will here say 
in favour of it, is, that every republican should gain 
some knowledge of the science of physiognomy; and 
never give their suffrage to any man, whether for the 
office of constable or president, or any of the inter- 
mediate stations in the republic, who bore in his 
countenance the prominent traits of ambition, criel- 
ty, or duplicity. The fourth and last department is 



mtendcd to nurture the smallest bud of patriotism ia 
the juvenile mind, to its full blossom. 1 have humbly 
taken the liberty to transpose some sentiments, alter 
the phraseology of others, and to compress the mat- 
ter and introduce it in short sections, so that the 
compilation of this department may be at once both 
concise and comprehensive. Elegance of diction is 
no part of my design. I have beer, precipitate and 
desultory in this, as I am in my other works. In- 
deed, 1 am always so indifferent to that bauble, lite- 
rary fame, that 1 never transcribe any of my works. 
Alas ! the world is already too full of books, replete 
with golden lies, in support of despotism ; and embel- 
lished with the flowers of rhetoric, in defence of vile 
and vulgar sensuality. 

before I conclude these prefatory remarks, I 
must observe, that not only the great, mighty and 
rich men of our commonwealth, will view our argu- 
ments with the side-glance of contemptuous disre- 
gard, but also the common people, if they are doom* 
ed to political annihilation. For when God dooms a 
nation or individual to destruction, for unrepented 
crimes, he first infatuates them, so that they can- 
not discern the most obvious truths, or shun the 
most evident danger. When we remember the un- 
speakable light, liberty, benefits and blessings, tempo- 
ral and spiritual, with which the people of America 
have been crowned, and at the same time view the 
base returns we have made to the God of all our 
mercies, must we not expect that he will visit our in- 
gratitude with a vengeance ? And when this eventful 
period has fully come, may be ascertained by the 
American population viewing with indifference, the 
most prominent rocks on which the republics of 
antiquity have all been shipwrecked: particularly 
standing armies; the power of the executive of the 
general government ; war, slavery, and a general 
depravation of national manners : when these harbin- 
A 3 



6 



gers of our downfall appear, and are viewed with 
indifference by the people, we may expect a disso- 
lution of the union to follow; the transformation 
of individual states to independent monarchies ; and 
of course, end'ess civil wars will no doubt be the con- 
comitant. One thing I observe defective in the Con- 
stitution of the United States; and which will, I be- 
lieve, be productive of the most fatal consequences at 
some future period; and that is, the patronage of our 
executive. Every intelligent politician is well con- 
vinced, that where any man, whether called a presi- 
dent or potentate, consul or king, is entrusted with 
too much power and privilege, corruption naturally 
generates around him. The chief magistrate of the 
United States, I believe, is such a man. The offices 
of honour and profit in his gift are too many ; and his 
power as commander in chief of the American army 
too great. Although I believe our present president 
to be a patriot, yet I would not trust even a patriot 
with too much power; because, <* strong temptations 
with the best prevail." For instance, suppose him to 
be an ambitious man, like Buonaparte, or an artful, 
enterprising man, like A. B***, and the said army 
to be augmented to 200,000 regulars, attached to 
their chief, would the liberties of the people be in no 
danger in such an event ? ** But (says one) at the 
next presidential election, if he is an ambitious man, 
we will cashier him." And pray who can tell whe- 
ther we shall have this opportunity ? Remember Julius 
Caesar, Oliver Cromwell and Buonaparte, and be wise. 
In four years, especially in time of war, an ambitious 
man may have many opportunities to subvert the liber- 
ties of the republic. Suppose a president of the United 
States, and commander in chief of the army, is a 
valiant military, as well as an artful ambitious man. 
Suppose him at the head of his army, repelling an in- 
vading foe, or invading a neighbouring province. 
Suppose him returning victorious, decked with the 



laurel crown, at the head of 200,000 well disciplined 
troops, devoted to his interest. Suppose him appre- 
hensive of being cashiered for his ambitious conduct ; 
would he not, and could he not proclaim himself king 
of America, and find 500,000 tories besides his army, 
to congratulate him as such, and hail the happy event ? 
Wherefore, the good people of the United States 
should amend the Constitution in this respect, while 
they have the opportunity, by transferring part of the 
present power of the president to the national legisla- 
ture; and thus make him more passive and less pow- 
erful. They cannot be too jealous of the liberty 
their fathers died to purchase, for them and their 
posterity. 

Who, that has a drop of benevolent blood flowing 
through his veins, can behold with indifference, or 
without regret, the present wretched state of this 
wretched world? and all through the neglect, servil- 
ity, stupidity and imbecility of the people, and the 
cruelty and usurpation of their super-inhuman kings. 
What but the most unaccountable infatuation or cri- 
minal inattention on the part of a populous nation, 
could enable one man, (and that man a knave or a 
fool, and perhaps both) to enslave, to oppress, to de- 
stroy them, by war abroad or privation at home? 
Alas ! how sad a sight is an army of 250,000 con- 
scripts, violently forced from their weeping relatives 
at the nod of an imperial villain, and commanded to 
march, contrary to their interests and inclinations, to 
a foreign clime, to kill, and be killed by those who 
never injured them ; wretches as miserable as them- 
selves. The catastrophe is too tragical for the eye of 
humanity to behold, or the ear of philanthropy to hear : 
cities, towns, villages and hamlets in flames, while 
their miserable inhabitants perish with cold and hun- 
ger ; and the troops which were the cause of all this 
devastation, are, with their warlike steeds, slaughter- 
ed by tens of thousands, and prematurely perish on a 



£ 



foreign land, and sprinkle the snow-white fields with 
human blood. Ail this is but a faint glimpse of the 
horrors of monarchy and episeopacy, which are the 
illegitimate offspring of indolence and baseness in the 
"people, who patiently (like, the stupid ass) suffer them- 
selves to be enslaved by a fellow- worm, as weak and 
more wicked than themselves. 




THE CHARMS 

OF 

BENEVOLENCE, &c. 

DEPARTMENT I. 

Concise Strictures on the cogent necessity, of the National and State 
Legislatures establishing Patriotic Seminaries of learning, in the 
centre of their respective jurisdictions ; as recommended by the 
President of the United States : Considered as the most effectual 
means to consolidate the palladium of our Independence, viz. the 
UNION of the States; for, " United tve stand, but divided xvc fall." 

DEDICATION. 

To the Federal and Democratic Republicans, of the 
United States of America, this department is most re- 
spectfully inscribed \ by their friend and fellow citizen, 

THE AUTHOR. 

THE light of the body is the eye: if, 
therefore, " thine eye be single, thy whole 
body shall be full of light; but if thine eye 
be evil, thy whole body shall be full of dark- 
ness,' 5 saith our precious and most merciful 
Redeemer. Hence, man in a state of hu- 
mility, simplicity and grace, uncorrupted by 
bad government, bad education, and bad ex- 
ample, is enabled to see, to feel, to love, and 
to obey the truth; and he delights to diffuse 
the peace he enjoys; while man in a state 
of rebellion against his Maker, puts error for 



10 

truth, and truth for error; and is seeking 
death in the error of his life, and continu- 
ally disseminating* the miseries that he 
suffers. The enlightened man is capable of a 
degree of intellectual improvement, border- 
ing on celestial. He knows that God form- 
ed him to be happy and wise : hence his 
heart dilates with gratitude to his Maker, 
and unfeigned love to his neighbour, which 
causes his joys to accumulate. He neither 
acknowledges nor adores any natural supe- 
rior, but his Father, his heavenly King ; and 
the independence he enjoys, he gladly com- 
municates, both at the morning, noon, and 
evening of his life. But where is man, in 
a collective body, to be found thus happy, 
thus independent, thus virtuous ; uncorrupt- 
ed by political or ecclesiastical oppression? 
Is it in Europe ? — No ! — Asia ? — No !— 
Africa ? — No ! — America ? — No ! — for al- 
though king-craft is totally, and I hope eter- 
nally exterminated from the United States, 
priest-craft is far from being so; which the 
reader will have an opportunity to sec, at the 
conclusion of this department. The fact is, 
man, in certain parts of the United States, 
by the cunning craft of selfish priests, co- 
operating with tory politicians, is reduced 
to a poor dependant, bigoted, distorted, pre- 
judieed, superstitious animal, but one soli- 



11 



lary grade superior to the animal creation. 
While so many masters of arts arc manu- 
factured in the colleges of the United States, 
why is it that the art of extirpating this hane 
of republicanism is not ascertained: I mean 
the spirit of aristocracy and its auxiliary, 
priest-craft, I would ask, what is more cal- 
culated to consolidate as well as dissem- 
inate the aristocratic spirit, even in this 
free country, than so many hundred pulpits, 
filled witli tory parsons, directly and indi- 
rectly preaching tory doctrines, to priest- 
ridden congregations, and that under the 
sanction of divine authority. For my part, 
I know not any means so well calculated to 
manufacture enemies to republicanism, than 
scholastic as well as ecclesiastic teachers : 
for this plain reason, " as the twig is bent 
the tree is inclined :" hence the tory prin- 
ciples inculcated upon the juvenile minds of 
our youth, by their anti-republican precep- 
tors, can never be eradicated. Yet, alas ! 
no care, no concern seems to rest upon the 
public mind, relative to the ways and means 
necessary to be used, in order to eradicate 
this growing and deleterious spirit, which I 
fear will one day produce the most to be 
deplored of all political evils ; I mean a dis- 
solution of the Federal union, which will 
produce a number of independent monar • 



12 



chics, and endless civil wars; a prelude to 
which will be a refusal on the part of indi- 
vidual states, to co operate with the general 
government, for the protection and security 
of the whole. I would ask, what was the 
foundation of the present, as w T ell as the an- 
tecedent despotisms of Europe? I answer, 
priest-craft: because the haughty prince 
could not so easily annihilate the natural 
rights of millions of his fellow worms, were 
it not for the co-operation of the cunning 
priest ; who, with his thumb on the Holy 
Bible, and the sacred name of God on his 
unhallowed lip, denounces eternal damna- 
tion upon every soul of man who resists the 
higher powers : yet these same priests, by 
appealing to the prejudices and superstition 
of their congregations, could with the same 
facility enlist them against, as well as in fa- 
vour of their respective governments ; such 

IS THEIR MIGHTY INFLUENCE ! ! HOW ne- 

cessary, therefore, is it that the guardians of 
the public weal, should use their utmost en- 
deavours to exterminate this bane of repub- 
licanism, and foundation of monarchy, from 
the United States ; I mean priest-craft, 
which I consider the foundation of aristo- 
cracy, while bigotry, superstition and preju- 
dice, are the fundamental pillars of priest- 
craft. 



13 

A virtuous and enlightened people, will 
neither be cheated nor bullied out of their 
liberty, while they remain such ; but when 
they suffer their interested priests to hood- 
wink them, when they sink into the sink of 
sloth and licentiousness, and cease to appre- 
ciate the intrinsic value of that pearl of great 
price, civil liberty, they become an easy prey 
to either political or ecclesiastical impostors. 
When the majority of the citizens in any 
state, concur with their interested priests, 
and deliberately suffer themselves to be 
imposed upon by them, how can such a 
state be denominated independent ? Are 
they not prepared to endure the most vio- 
lent innovations upon their unalienable 
rights ? and does not God give up such ser- 
vile miscreants to strong delusions, that 
they may believe a lie ? Most assuredly he 
does : for he w T ould not support even his 
own theocracy against the concurrent base- 
ness, servility and ingratitude of the Jews, 
but " gave them a king in his anger ! I !" If 
the people will have a tyrant, at least an ec- 
clesiastical one, they are at liberty even in 
this free country, to choose one ; and clothe 
him in sacerdotal silk and cambriek, and 
pay him the reverence and honour due only 
to the Supreme Being. But in so doing 
they rob God of his honour and glory. — 



14 



Yes, eyen in this free country, I have seen 
the sacerdotal silkand cambrick outvied, the 
imperial purple mimicked, and the royal 
crimson canopy imitated ; the place, or 
name of which, delicacy forbids me to men- 
tion in this work ; and much less the name 
of the right rev. bishop, arrayed in the most 
brilliant robes I ever beheld, and placed in a 
chair of state, under this most splendid crim- 
son canopy, surmounted with gold. This 
tinsel of superstition I beheld with sad re- 
gret, while thousands of the wondering, 
cheated, priest-ridden multitude, gaped with 
admiration, mixed with reverential awe, up- 
on the unnatural exhibition. I expect, that 
in a neighbouring city, ecclesiastical gran- 
deur and magnificence is carried to a great- 
er extreme, than even the above ; as I have 
seen a superb likeness of a certain divine, 
with this pompous title subjoined to it, ta 

Wit : "THE ARCHBISHOP OF ##*###### [» 

Is it not as consistent to reason and republi- 
canism, to constitute a pope or an emperor, 
as an archbishop in our solitary common- 
wealth, the only one the ravages of mon- 
archy and episcopacy has left in the whole, 
world? Without any manner of doubt. Let 
such gentry for one moment contrast* their 

* I well know, that by bearing a testimony against 
these errors, and advocating the opposite truth, I 



15 



character and conduct, with that of the apos- 
tles in general, and St. Paul in particular, 
whose immediate successors they profess to 
be, and they will at once see the astonishing 
dissimilarity. St. Paul, so far from taking 
the people's money in super-abundance, to 
build churches like palaces, pulpits like 
thrones, and to procure sacerdotal robes, as 
superb as the imperial purple, to support their 
personal grandeur and proud pre-eminence, 
worked at his own trade, to administer to his 
own necessities; and was what might strictly 
be called a plain honest man. He preached 
the everlasting gospel to the poor, in lanes 
and alleys ; highways and hedges ; finally, in 
such places as the « market place of Athens 

greatly injure my interest, accumulate enemies, and 
even endanger my life : but I here, once for all de- 
clare, that I conscientiously believe it my duty, repeat- 
edly to bear this painful testimony. " But (says one) 
where is the necessity of a repetition of these ani- 
madversions ?" I ask in return, where is the necessity 
of a benevolent man, who beholds his neighbour's 
Jhouse wrapped in flames while he is fast asleep, re- 
peatedly calling him, and that with a loud voice, to 
escape from the brink of destruction ? I hope this ap- 
propriate similitude will be a sufficient apology for 
the generous tautology observable in almost all my 
works ; as well as the obvious deviations therein, from 
the radical rules of composition : utility, not method, 
the good, and not the praise of man, being my prima- 
ry object. 



16 

and Mars-hill;" without any robes of state, 
or sacerdotal ornaments : yet his successors 
in this generation, will see the sons of mise- 
ry and dissipation going to hell by thousands, 
without calling them to repentance, although 
so well paid to do so, unless they by chance 
call at their superb churches ; which seldom 
happens with millions of the miserable, 
partly for want of inclination, but oflener for 
want of suitable apparel. Yet we see mis- 
sionaries sent periodically to preach to the 
Indians and Asiatics, while our own mise- 
rable population are perishing in their 
wretched habitations for lack of spiritual 
knowledge. Nevertheless, our blessed Re- 
deemer commands his true ministers to go 
to the highways and hedges, and compel 
them to come in ; and declares, that if any 
one of his ministerial servants should be am- 
bitious to gain pre-eminence among his bre- 
thren, he should be the servant of all, and 
that they should " be all brethren, and he 
only the master." 

It will perhaps be asked, why the Al- 
mighty suffers his creatures so far to be de- 
luded, so far to be enslaved by error, as to 
kiss the royal and imperial foot that kicks 
them, and pay homage to the episcopal hand 
that robs them both of their money and 
their souls. For our doctors of divinity 



17 

are, alas ! too much like the Jewish doctors, 
who kept the key of knowledge, and would 
not enter heaven themselves, nor suffer their 
priest-ridden admirers to enter there. Hear 
what the prophet Micah says of the Jewish 
priesthood, which is, alas ! too applicable to 
the Christian priesthood in the present age. 
*< They build up Zion with blood, and Jeru- 
salem with iniquity. The heads thereof 
judge for reward, and the priests thereof 
teach for hire, and the prophets thereof di- 
vine for money : yet will they lean upon the 
Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us ? 
none evil can come upon us. Therefore shall 
Zion for your sake be ploughed like a field, 
and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the 
mountain of the house, as the high places of 
the forest." — Micahiii. 10, 11, 12. 

Is not this judicial infatuation a just re- 
action of divine Providence for their pride, 
perverseness and ingratitude ? They will 
not pay homage to their gracious Redeemer ; 
consequently he sends them strong delu- 
sions, that tliey may believe a lie, and pay 
homage to those who oppress and afflict 
them. Like the rich miser, who starved 
himself to death sooner than use a part of his 
immense wealth, because he believed a lie, 
namely : that he would come to poverty. 
As utility is my object, rather than method, 
tj2 



18 



I have introduced these spontaneous re- 
marks, which do not properly belong to our 
subject, but to which we now return ; first 
requesting the reader's indulgence for the 
digression. 

We are jealous of our inimitable consti- 
tution, but are not aware of the danger lib- 
erty incurs, by the wrong education of our 
youth, with the prevalent degeneracy of our 
manners. What avail bills of rights, when 
the dispositions of the people do not corres- 
pond therewith : — while scholastic and ec- 
clesiastic teachers, are permitted with im- 
punity, to instill tory principles into the 
susceptible and pliant minds of thousands of 
our youth, and millions of adults ? Is it to be 
wondered, then, that the spirit of tory- 
ism has increased since the epoch of our 
revolution ? We all very well know, that 
the anti-republican ideas acquired by youth 
in our aristocratic universities, are confirm- 
ed in the world, by tory associates, and 
hence " grow with their growth, and 
strengthen with their strength :" how else 
can we account for the numerous corps of 
tories, not of European, but American 
v growth, which are to be found in every part 
of the United States ? many thousands of 
whom have been manufactured since the 
American war. Wherefore, of all tories in 



i9 



this whig country, tory Americans and tory 
Irishmen are the most inexcusable. Is it 
not then a duty, worthy the most serious 
consideration of our national and state legis- 
latures, to correct in time this enormous and 
still growing evil, which is devouring the 
vitals of the body politic ? at least by reform- 
ing the present modes of education, promot- 
ing an equality of rank in our universities, 
prohibiting tory publications from being dis- 
seminated there ; and above all, if it can 
be constitutionally done, to preclude all tory 
pedagogues, especially tory aliens, from fill- 
ing the all-important situations of scholastic 
teachers : at any rate, to establish national 
and state seminaries, to be supported at the 
public expence, and to be conducted exclu- 
sively by republican preceptors. Is it not 
truly astonishing, that the public function- 
aries should spend so many months, perhaps 
years, in counteracting the machinations of 
tory priests and tory politicians, and at last 
spend it all in vain ; while the easy, certain 
and compendious means to prevent the evil 
is never used, nor even anticipated ? The 
fable of the Tentyrites presents itself, and 
will answer the purpose of a similitude, to 
illucidatc our argumentation. 

<* A Crocodile of a prodigious size and 
uncommon fierceness, infested the banks of 



so 



the Nile, and spread desolation through all 
the neighbouring country, and ventured to 
carry his incursions even into the island of 
Tentyra, and to brave the people who boast 
themselves the only tamers of his race. 
The Tentyrites themselves, were struck with 
horror at the appearance of a monster more 
terrible than they had ever seen before, and 
endeavoured with all their art, and address, 
to surprise him, but in vain. As they were 
consulting together what they should do in 
these circumstances, an Ichneumon stepped 
forth and thus addressed them ; < I know 
your ditsress neighbours, and though I can- 
not assist you in the present difficulties ; 
yet can give you some simple advice, that 
will be of use to you in future, if you take it. 
A little prudence and precaution is worth 
all your courage : it may be glorious to over- 
come a great evil, but the wisest way is to 
prevent it. You despise the Crocodile while 
he is small and weak, and do not sufficiently 
consider that he is a long lived animal, it 
is his peculiar property to grow as long as he 
lives. You see, I am a poor little feeble 
creature, yet am I more formidable to the 
Crocodile. I attack him in his egg ; and 
while you are contriving for months, how to 
destroy one Crocodile, I effectually destroy 
fifty in a day.' " 



Si 



Bad principles might be destroyed in 
youth with the same facility, if taken in 
time. Had Buonaparte's first and best school- 
master been a true republican, and early in- 
spired him with the love of liberty and equa- 
lity, and an abhorrence of king craft, and 
priest craft, I am persuaded, there would 
not be at this time a royal villain with a 
diadem, or a most Rev. impostor, with a 
mytre on his head in the world, or at least in 
Europe. But what could have been effected 
by an old superanuated pedagogue then, can- 
not be accomplished by all mankind now ; 
because his principles of monarchy imbibed 
in the military school of Louis XVI. have 
matured with his increase of years. In the 
same manner, perhaps there is in some of 
our tory schools (I repeat the sentiment, too 
often it cannot be repeated) an infantile Buo- 
naparte, who will imbibe tory principles, as 
his great capacity expands, and in future 
years will embrace the opportunity of our 
intestine broils, and party rancour, to level 
the proud palladium of our dear bought 
independence, in promiscuous ruin ; and es- 
tablish a military and hereditary despotism 
thereon. And all this will be but the predict- 
ed consequence, of the wilful neglect of our 
rulers and legislators. 



S3 



Of all people, it is natural to suppose, that 
the ministers of Christ, should be the most 
sanguine and sincere friends of civil liberty, 
and should inspire their pupils and congre- 
gations with the same disposition ;" for this 
plain reason, because the blessed Jesus, 
whose disciples they profess to be, was just 
such a character. 

The rights, the comfort, and the happi- 
ness of all mankind, were the objects of his 
solicitude, but he had an evident predilection 
for the poor. The great object of his mis- 
sion was to give sight to the blind, feet to 
the lame, health to the sick, life to the dead, 
and the best of all " to preach the Gospel tQ 
the poor." 

How melodious does this glorious mission 
sound in the ears of the true Philanthropist, 
when he contrasts it with the bloody wars, 
carnage, destruction, and death, with which 
the antecedent history of the world is filled. 
Who showed any solicitude or commisera- 
tion for the poor, till Christ set the ex- 
ample ? Not the Jewish priesthood : witness 
the parable of the good Samaritan. Who 
has followed this blessed example : is it the 
Christian ministry? Far from it. Witness 
the hosts of dignified clergymen, who live in 
pomp and grandeur on the fleece, and tha 
devil may take the flock, for what they care. 



33 



They make a machine of the gospel to ac- 
cumulate wealth, and a step ladder on which 
they climb to human honour, and secular 
preferment. The fact is, they are as differ- 
ent in character and conduct from our gra- 
cious Redeemer, and his apostles, whose 
successors they profess to be, as light is to 
darkness, or heaven to hell. The blessed 
Jesus, preached his glorious gospel to the 
poor, not for pay, but from motives of pu- 
rest pity ; his pulpit a green mountain, and 
his sounding-board the blue canopy of hea- 
ven. Indeed, he appeared himself in the 
character of extreme poverty, in order to 
prove to a demonstration, how contemptible 
the rich man's tinsel appears in the sight of 
heaven. citizens of America, « the world's 
last hope !'* admire, love and obey, this bles- 
sed gospel, for it co-operates with nature in 
consolidating your unalienable rights ; it is 
in one word, the sacred charter of your li- 
berty I Give not then your clerical tyrants 
an opportunity to circumvent its order, or 
subvert its intent: as the citizens of one of 
the New-England states shamefully have 
done, and still do, to the disgrace of the 
union. In order, therefore, to stop clerical 
innovators in some measure, (as very many 
of them are the preceptors and superinten- 
dents of our universities,) I would earnestly 



24 



recommend to the citizens of the United 
States in general, and the patriotic state of 
Pennsylvania in particular, to call town 
meetings, and petition the legislature to es- 
tablish a republican university, in the centre 
of each state, to be supported at the public 
expenee ; and that republican teachers be 
chosen by the legislature. Each building 
should be sufficiently extensive for the ac- 
commodation of at least 3000 boys. The 
whole establishment in Pennsylvania, to be 
under the particular superintendance of the 
governor, and to be conducted upon the most 
economical plan, that our citizens may give 
their male children a polite and patri- 
otic education, at from 52 to 104 dollars 
per annum, boarding, washing, and lodging 
included. And inasmuch as many of our 
best citizens, both as it respects informa- 
tion and patriotism, are in very reduced 
circumstances, some of whom are those ve- 
terans who spilt their precious and patriotic 
blood, to purchase our independence : wit- 
ness the hoary hero, Gen. St. Clair. I would 
therefore most earnestly recommend, that a 
structure capable of accommodating, from 
1500 to 2000 male children of such citi- 
zens, might be erected, about 100 yards 
from the antecedent building ; the whole 
land connected with which, to be about fifty 
acres, for gardens, pasture, &c. where the 



25 

boys of such indigent citizens, may be taught 
all the useful branches of science ; such as 
reading, writing, arithmetic, surveying, na- 
vigation, mensuration, anatomy, chemistry, 
botany, law, physic, &c. &c. 

And as it is a fundamental truth, although 
the rich refuse to believe it such, that the 
most necessary part of education, is a habit of 
industry, and a propensity to application, 
this principle, therefore, should be infused 
at an early age, at least into the minds of the 
children of the poor, (as I well know that 
the parents of the rich will hoot at the idea 
as ridiculous) I would therefore particularly 
recommend, that instead of unbending the 
mind from study, by the diversions at present 
common in our seminaries, such as games 
of chance and athletic sports, (by which the 
seeds of vice are insensibly and, alas ! too 
successfully sown,) that the scholars of this 
department of our intended establishment, 
should exercise themselves, and that from 
their earliest age, in habits of industry most 
necessary in common life. An hour in the 
morning, two at noon, and one hour after 
school, to be spent in light labour, suited to 
the age and capacity of the pupil. And for 
this purpose, some manufactory to be es- 
tablished near the above structure, adapted 
to the pliable fingers of boys. Thus their la- 



26 

bour might pay for their schooling, &c. 
Habits of industry acquired, the judgment 
matured, the principles of science rooted, 
the foundation of virtue and happiness laid, 
and the love of liberty deeply implanted. 

1 cannot find language to express the 
great utility of such patriotic seminaries. 
In short, the present evil of corrupting our 
children, would be in a great measure reme- 
died, and a permanent good established 
in its room. Henee, the dear imitative 
mortals, instead of being corrupted by 
the precepts and example of their tory pre- 
ceptors, and at an age most susceptible of 
impressions, which it is very hard for even 
time to eradicate, would be instructed to ad- 
mire, love and defend the liberty their 
fathers died to purchase, and the constitu- 
tion, which secures to them the enjoyment 
of this precious liberty. Thus, instead 
of manufacturing our sons to torics and 
traitors, and then letting them loose from 
their famous universities to corrupt their 
fellow-citizens by their false logic, embel- 
lished with the elegance of composition ; the 
most salutary and patriotic precepts, would 
be continually emanating from these temples 
of literature ; and would, in one word, be the 
bulwark, and not the bane of our free go- 
vernment. The president of the United 
States, points out the utility, and reeom- 



%7 

mends the organization of such an institu- 
tion, in the following comprehensive ex- 
pressions, viz : 

« Whilst it is universally admitted, that 
a well instructed people alone can be per- 
manently a free people ; and whilst it is evi- 
dent, that the means of diffusing and im- 
proving useful knowledge, form so small 
a proportion of the expenditures for national 
purposes, I cannot presume it to be unrea- 
sonable, to invite your attention to the ad- 
vantages of super-adding to the means of 
education provided by the several states, a 
seminary of learning, instituted by the na- 
tional legislature, within the limits of their 
exclusive jurisdiction ; the cxpence of which 
might be defrayed, or reimbursed out of 
the vacant grounds which have accrued to 
the nation within those limits. 

" Such an institution, though local in its 
legal character, would be universal in its 
beneficial effects. By enlightening the opi- 
nions, by expanding the patriotism, and by 
assimilating the principles, the sentiments, 
and the manners of those who might resort 
to this temple of science, to be re-distributed, 
in due time, through every part of the com- 
munity ; sources of jealousy and prejudice 
would be diminished, the features of na- 
tional character would be multiplied, and 



28 

greater extent to social harmony. But 
above all, a well constituted seminary, in 
the centre of the nation, is recommended by 
the consideration, that the additional instruc- 
tion emanating from it, would contribute no 
less to strengthen the foundations, than to 
adorn the structure, of our free and happy 
system of government." 

The deformity and deleterious principles, 
of monarchy and aristocracy, should be con- 
tinually exhibited to the intellectual view of 
the American youth, by their preceptors : 
their speeches, their lessons, and their 
school-books in general, (which at present 
too often savour of torvism) should dis- 
play, in the most engaging language, the 
beauty and utility of republicanism. 

The conduct of Hamilcar, the father of 
Hannibal, the Carthagenian General, pre- 
sents itself to prove the force of our argu- 
ment ; even at the age of nine years his fa- 
ther, by the force of education, inspired him 
with an extreme hatred against the Romans, 
which continued to his death ; and he proved 
the most dangerous enemy they ever con- 
tended with. I ask, what endows even the 
savages of our own continent, with such un- 
conquerable resolution, composure and pa- 
tience, even in the midst of the greatest ago- 
nies and bodily torture which they endure, 



29 

not only without complaint, but deride and 
defy their foes, in the midst thereof; no 
doubt it is the force of example, accom- 
panied with precept. By what means did 
Sparta remain free, long after the other re- 
publican states of Greece were enslaved ? I 
answer, by attending to the laws of Lycur- 
gus : particularly those relating to the edu- 
cation of their youth. And had she abided 
by the laws of that wise legislator, she would 
have remained free much longer. What 
proved the harbinger of the degradation and 
enslavement of the Roman republic ? I an- 
swer, an indifference in the people to the 
interest of the commonw ealth, inattention to 
the education of their youth, and a general 
depravation of public manners. The fact is, 
luxury in a nation, is as destructive to it, as 
intemperance in an individual. Point out 
to a dissipated man the consequences of his 
intemperance, and he will laugh at you. In 
the same manner, an infatuated nation will 
attend to the most superficial subjects, the 
most vile and vulgar sensuality, or futile 
and frivolous publications ; while they treat 
those written with the hand of benevolence 
and patriotism, and on which their political 
existence ultimately depends, with silent and 
sovereign contempt. My reason for not 
addressing the governments of the united 
C2 



30 

and individual states, on the necessity of or- 
ganizing public seminaries of learning, as 
aforesaid, is this : I well know, that the 
great men, the mighty men, the honourable 
men, and the political men of our country, 
(the plain, but patriotic Gov. Simon Snyder 
excepted) would think it derogatory to their 
dignity, to listen or attend to the proposi- 
tions of a simple child of nature, without 
either a handle or a tail to his name ; neither 
Honourable, Excellency or Esquire, nor 
Rev., Right Rev., Bishop or Archbishop, 
D. D., M. D., A. M., or L. L. D. ; such 
titles of honour, as the sons of vanity attach 
to their names, in order to let the world 
know, that they are superior to the swinish 
multitude. For my part, was I to be so 
vain, so foolish, and so proud, as to attach a 
tail to my name, it should be thus : Thomas 
Branagan, 0. &. M. i. e. One of the Swinish 
Multitude ! ! ! O how sad a sight are all 
pedantic and transitory distinctions, and ho- 
norary nicknames, " to those whose thoughts 
can pierce beyond an hour!" But to re- 
turn ; although I do not address the govern- 
ment, I address their masters, the SOVE- 
REIGN PEOPLE, who will be heard, or 
cashier their representatives : and I hope 
they will be deeply sensible of the impor- 
tance of these spontaneous, unadorned, una- 



31 



dulterated, fundamental truths. I can ac- 
count for the hosts of tories to be found in 
kingdoms, and that is the force of example, 
the tinsel of royalty and episcopacy, but 
above all, the prejudice of education : but, 
that such bitter roots should grow in a land 
of liberty, that such perverse, such servile, 
such petulent animals, should be bred and 
born in the American republic, is matter of 
astonishment. And how can we account 
for this phenomenon in the moral world, 
but by attributing it to the wrong association 
of ideas in youth, and the invincibility of 
the prejudice of education? The young 
Americans, who can read the history of the 
present despotic governments of Europe, 
written in the innocent blood of millions of 
their poor unhappy fellow-creatures, and 
who can applaud the one and despise the 
other, apologize and vindicate the first, and 
at the same time depreciate and calumniate 
the last, surely must be deeply corrupted by 
their tory preceptors. I can but pity and des- 
pise such servile and unfeeling mortals, 
above 500,000 of whom, I believe, are at 
present in the United States ; and I very 
much fear, they will sooner or later, be the 
primary cause of the dissolution of the union. 
Tory Englishmen are to be pitied, not re- 
proached, for their political information is 



33 

corrupted at tlie very source, and their love 
of country is almost proverbial ; and they 
consider, very improperly, their government 
and country as synonimous terms. But 
American traitors and Irish tories, have not 
this excuse to plead in their favour. Was 
the benevolent and patrioticplan I have pro- 
posed, adopted, and brought into operation, 
instead of manufacturing 500,000 anti-re- 
publicans in our tory churches and colleges 
in thirty years, 500,000 tories would be me- 
tamorphosed to true republicans, through 
the instrumentality of our patriotic tutors ; 
and also by means of their pupils, when 
arrived at maturity in age and polities, and 
distributed through every section of the 
union. 

The governments of Europe, founded on 
conquest, and supported by arbitrary and 
tyrannical power, establish universities, and 
political and military schools. The first ele- 
ments of aristocratieal education inculcated 
there, is the oppression of hirelings, the in- 
significance of the poor, a contempt of the 
rights of man, and the (I had almost said) 
omnipotence of the nobility : and the dress 
of the pupils is well adapted to flatter the 
pride of aristocracy ; for they will scarcely 
deign to walk the streets, without displaying 
their superiority and pre-eminence, by 



33 



gowns of silk, and tufts of gold. And do 
the votaries of despotism thus use every ex- 
ertion and precaution, and the most effect 
tual means, to" consolidate their baneful 
power ; and shall the friends of republican- 
ism, and our free and happy form of govern- 
ment, use neither exertion, precaution, nor 
the most effectual means to make votaries 
to republicanism, by instilling its funda- 
mental principles into the minds of our 
youth, with the first rudiments of their edu- 
cation ; so that when they arrive at the 
years of maturity, they may look down the 
spirit of aristocracy, and with just indigna- 
tion, extirpate it from their beloved country, 
instead of supporting with all their influence 
and eloquence, this deleterious offspring of 
hell, which is already devouring with gree- 
diness the vitals of the body politic. 

It is an axiom in politics, as clear as any 
in mathematics, that till the cause is remov- 
ed, the effects will never cease. Till some 
alteration is made in the present mode of 
education, till alien tory, and American tory 
teachers, both scholastic and ecclesiastic, 
are prohibited from teaching and preaching 
treason, we may expect thousands of tories 
to be manufactured every year, even in this 
land, where liberty has found an assylum, 
after having been chased round the globe, 
and exterminated from every other nation, 



34 

city, town and state in the world, by the tory 
tribe. It is impossible for me to point out, 
either the public utility, the necessary appa- 
ratus, or the diversified departments of the 
establishments I have proposed ; I would 
however, humbly beg leave to observe, that 
the present popular mode of manufacturing 
ministers, and teaching the dead languages, 
might, with great propriety, be dispensed 
with, and indeed should be exploded : be- 
cause, the first is blasphemous, and the 
curse of Christendom, as well as the bane 
of republicanism ; and the last is (to say the 
least of it) superfluous. But mineralogy, 
philology, zoology, botany, chemistry, as- 
tronomy, and natural and moral philosophy, 
with other branches of literature, may with 
pleasure and profit be taught : they will ex- 
pand the juvenile mind, and will serve as a 
rich repast to more mature age. Rut above 
a ] i, a dependance on the Creator, and the 
infinite love of the Redeemer, should be ex- 
hibited, with the fundamental doctrines of 
the Christian religion, in the most glowing 
colours and energetic language, to the intel- 
lectual view of our youth, at least every 
morning. Corporeal punishment should be 
prohibited; yet delinquency should meet 
imprisonment, disgrace, or privation, while 
assiduity should meet reward and appro- 



35 

bation. I have merely attempted to exhibit 
to popular inspection, the fundamental prin- 
ciples on which such seminaries might be 
founded, The general and state govern- 
ments ought to support the present proposi- 
tion, for this plain reason : because on he 
establishments I propose, their own exist- 
ence radically depend. All who truly love 
their country, their species and posterity, 
will aid my plan ; and such may rest ass r- 
ed of the approbation of God, of conscience, 
and of all mankind, tories and traitors ex- 
cepted. 

When we view in the historic page the 
impolicy and neglect of the first-rate politi- 
cians of the Grecian and Roman republics, 
in matters of the last importance ; while at 
the same time they were scrupulously atten- 
tive to the most uninteresting incidents, we 
are astonished. How often, on account of 
this inattention, has the streets of Rome been 
deluged with the best of Roman blood ! 
But the Grecian republic affords us a still 
more important lesson ; because, like our 
own commonwealth, it consisted of a nunr- 
ber of independentstates, which occasionally 
united in larger or smaller confederacies, as 
exigency required. These Grecian states 
while united, were invincible ; but, alas ! 
when discord and party rancour abolished 



36 



their confederations, Greece became an easy 
pray to foes, who were previously contemp- 
tible in their view ; and finally, was swallow- 
ed up in the vortex of foreign influence and 
domestic factions. The United States is a 
parallel case. If our union is dissolved by 
foreign influence— -tory influence, French 
influence or British influence, it matters not 
which, we are then near a similar vortex : 
the most precious and patriotic of American 
blood, must run down our streets ; the most 
sanguinary civil wars will be the dreadful 
result ; and at last, we will become an easy 
prey to the most contemptible foe : in one 
word, our fall will be similar to the inde- 
pendent Grecian states. Are not the rulers 
of the United and individual states truly 
reprehensible, for not usingtheir endeavours 
to stop the tide, which is whirling us ra- 
pidly to a vortex similaHx) the above ? The 
father of his country, thirty years ago, la- 
mented to see the evil I deprecate.* But if 

* In a letter to colonel Humphries, he has these re- 
markable words: u For God's sake, tell me what is 
the cause of all these commotions? Do they proceed 
from licentiousness, British influence disseminated by 
the Tories, or real grievances which idmit of redress?" 
In a letter to General Knox he says, u I feel, my 
dear General, infinitely more than I can express, for 
the disorders which have arisen in these states, (New 
England) Good God! who besides a TORY could 



37 

General Washington was now alive, and be- 
held the influence of the tories accumulat- 
ing, instead of diminishing since the involu- 
tion, how would he lament the degeneracy 
of his successors ! We do not wonder to 
find such hosts of tories in the United 
States, at and after the revolution, because 
the republic was not then in the full tide of 
experiment ; and the intrinsic merit of the 
Constitution was not yet ascertained : but 
now, with the contrast between European 
despotism, in its most horrible forms, and 
American liberty in its most economical, 
conciliating and meliorating effects in their 
full view, the tories are accumulating in au 

have foreseen, or a BRITON have predicted them !** 
and after a few sentences, he adds, as in the spirit of 
prophecy, " there are combustibles in every state to 
which a spark might set fire " 

In unison with the sentiments of this truly great 
man, were the opinions of Colonel Lee : in a letter to 
this highly estimable character he says, u a majority 
•f the people of Massachusetts are in opposiiion to 
the government ; some of the leaders avow the sub- 
version of it to be their object, together with the abo- 
lition of debts, the division of property, and a re- 
union with great Britain. In all the eastern 
states the same temper prevails, more or less, and 
will certainly break forth whenever the opportune 
moment may arrive. The malcontents are in close 
connection with Vermont, and it is believed, in nfc- 
gociation with the government of Canada." 
n 



38 

alarming degree, in this free country. What 
a pity ! What a shame ! ! 

But it is not tory influence, British influ- 
ence, secret service money, hired prints, 
and hired pamphleteers alone I dread. The 
cunning artifice of that deep political des- 
pot, Napolean, we should watch with a 
wary eye, and avoid with religious scrupu- 
losity, any association or alliance with him 
or his despotic government, by keeping 
them at a friendly distance. The fable of the 
Iamb and wolf drinking at the same stream, 
will answer as a similitude to illustrate our 
argumentation : for, most assuredly, we 
stand in the same relation to the French 
government, as the lamb did to the wolf: 
Hence, we should put no confidence in the 
diplomatic finesse of the murderer of Palm, 
Toussaint, Pichegru, Wright, Hofer and 
d'Enghien, and the destroyer of the French, 
the Swiss, and the Batavian republics. Let 
not then, any true American, whether Fede- 
ral or Democratic, have any partiality for 
any of the despotic governments of Europe, 
and above all, for the French or English. 
The millions of American property they have 
both in their turn stolen from us, on the high 
seas, should make every true friend to his 
country view each of them with a jealous 
eye : yet it should be observed, the English 



89 

have robbed us of far more property than the 
French. Although I look upon the French 
government as the most despotic one in Eu- 
rope, yet will I pass no remarks thereon, as 
I believe the French partizans in the Uni- 
ted States are by no means equal in number 
to British partizans : but that the latter de- 
scription of persons in particular, and all 
tories in general, who may peruse these 
strictures, may see, as clear as a ray of light 
in an unclouded atmosphere, the ungene- 
rosity of their predilection, and the inhu- 
manity of their political principles, (for he 
who vindicates oppression, though a beggar, 
shares the crime.) I will take the liberty of 
illustrating the antecedent remarks, by ap- 
plicable testimonials from the most authen- 
tic sources. 

And first, in order to demonstrate with 
what virulence and effrontery treason is ut- 
tered, even from the sacred pulpit, by tory 
priests, (for although Dr. Parrish is called a 
Federalist, he is, I contend, a rank tory. I 
am a Federalist,* according to the proper 

• A Federalist is a true friend to the federal union 
and government of the United States: his motto is, 
equal rights and liberty, without distinction of birth, 
wealth, or titles ; but no man to assume rights, that 
directly or indirectly infringe the rights of others. 
Some of the best men on earth are in the Federal, as 



40 

etymology of the word, and I am sure bis 
principles and mine are as different as light 
and darkness) I will subjoin the following 
note* from the Democratic Press, If ec- 
clesiastic tories will thus in public preach to 
their tory congregations, that " the blood (of 
Americans) willjlow to the horses bridles" 
of the British, may we not expect they will 

well as the Democratic ranks; but many impostors 
assume the name of each of these parties, . because 
they are ashamed to appear in their own native de- 
formity. Washington was a Federalist, Jefferson is 
a Democrat; yet the first was a true patriot and so 
is the last. Civil and religious liberty is good, not- 
withstanding the hypocrisy of political and ecclesias- 
tical impostors. 

* m The Rev. Dr. Parrish, of Massachusetts, has 
published a political sermon, which he delivered last 
July, and which is filled with falsehood, profligate 
falsehood from begining to end ; with traitorous 
and impious sentiments, at which every good and no- 
ble feeling of the human heart shudders with aston- 
ishment and horror. This Federal clergyman, whose 
blasphemous principles cannot fail to draw upon his 
head the vengeance of insulted Heaven, and the curses 
of every honest man in Christendom : this sacrilegi- 
ous preacher, whose feet pollute, and whose lips pro- 
fane the Holy Temple of religion ; this impious 
man in speaking of the war and of Great Britain, 
exclaims, that * her banners will wave victorious, while 

THE BLOOD OF HER ENEMIES WILL FLOW TO THE 

horses' bridles, and the fie sh of their vassal kings 
furnish a SUPPER for all the Vultures of heaven !» 
And is this the benevolent language of religion ?" 



11 

inculcate on the juvenile minds of their 
scholars in private, sentiments as bead as the 
above ? for worse is impossible* Indeed, the 
other sentiments of this famous, or rather 
infamous sermon, are too horrid to meet the 
eye of patriotism, or the ear of benevolence 
The reason so many of the clerical tribe are 
rank tories, is this : they love kings, because 
kings support priest craft, for this plain rea- 
son : the priests prophecy or preach falsely ; 
and through their false eloquence, the kings 
bear rule, and the people Jove to have it so,-*- 
and even kiss the foot that kicks them, 
sooner than look down their wicked priests, 
who bind their intellectual faculties in the 
adamantine chains of superstition, bigotry 
and prejudice. Now in order to prove to 
what a height priest-craft has got in the 
New England States, I would introduce a 
quotation from the writings of the ingenious 
E. Smith, and one hundred such proofs I 
could give, if my limits would allow it. 

" The rage of the priests through their 
servants, in Massachusetts, exceeds what 

* Thus the Jews suffered themselves to be befooled 
by their wicked priests. See Jeremiah, chap. v. ver. 30, 
31. — • A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in 
the land. The prophets prophecy falsely, and the 
priests bear rule by their means, and my people love to 
bave it so." 

% J) 



43 



was known in the clays of Eli— then they 
sent their servants with a three tined fork, 
to take raw flesh by force out of the pot or 
caldron ; but now they tell them to take live 
flesh of men and horses. In Berkley, 
( Mass. J they have proceeded in a violent 
manner, and the violent take man and horse 
by force. In that town Capt. Burt, (who 
had for some time been exempted from cle- 
rical taxation, being of another denomina- 
tion) was this year taxed to the town hire- 
ling, and called on for the money, which he 
refused to pay. The collector took his 
horse and advertised him for sale. Not 
long before the time of sale, it appears that 
he found it not lawful to sell a working 
horse in that manner, and returned him, 
and meant to put him into Capt. Burt's 
field; but his wife forbade it ; he then turn- 
ed the horse loose on the common. Soon 
after this, the horse was found in a neigh- 
bour's corn-field, and was taken out and 
carried to prison, where he remained nine- 
teen days, and then as a stray horse was 
sold at vendue for seventeen dollars ; though 
he had previously been prized at about 
twenty-eight dollars. Capt. Burt has since 
commenced a suit against the collector, 
which now remains to be decided by law. 



13 



«« Not far from this time, in the same 
town, Capt. Jones, a respectable man, a bap- 
tist, was exempted from taxes to the priest 
for many years, (after having a law-suit with 
the town for illegal taxation,) was this year 
taxed again. Sometime in this month, 
(Nov.) or near, the collector overtook him 
as he was riding to Taunton, and demand- 
ed the money, which he refused to pay, but 
told him if he had it, he must take it by 
force ; and told him he might take his horse, 
which he refused, and said he would take 
him, and instantly made him a prisoner. — 
Capt. Jones wished for the privilege of re- 
turning to his house, to take some money to 
support him in jail ; this very great favour 
he condescended to grant, and then convey- 
ed him to Taunton jail, and confined him 
there till he should pay the last mite. He 
tarried there a few hours, and was taken 
out by several respectable gentlemen of that 
town. He has commenced a suit for false 
imprisonment. 

Where is' the free man on earth who can 
behold such oppression with indifference! 
This is some of the fruit of that religion 
which Governor Strong says we received 
from England — « The world's last hope/' 
If men who obtain money in this way, are 



44 



not greedy dogs, where can they be found ? 
" They bite with tiie teeth, and cry peace, 
and lie that putteth not into their mouths, 
they even prepare war against him." These 
are the men who teach for hire, and divine 
for riioney. How contemptible must Mr. 

— appear to all good men, while he is 

the cause of so much trouble, expence and 
contention in the town where he lives ! In- 
stead of being a peace-maker as all the min- 
isters of Christ are, behold him the cause of 
strife and contention. Instead of pro- 
claiming liberty to captives, see him the 
cause of making free men captives. Such 
men cry out, *< Infidelity — religion is com- 
ing to nothing — -we are all undone." It is 
altogether likely, that such things will cause 
many people in Massachusetts to shake the 
viper from their hand. Night shall be to 
the prophets, and the sun shall go down up- 
on their heads. 

" We are sorry to say, that instead of let- 
ting the oppressed go free, they are the peo- 
ple to oppress. An instance of this kind 
has taken place in Rumney, N. H. In that 
town there lives an old Baptist minister, 
who has for many years preached freely to 
the people there, and in the towns around. 
Within a few years, the Baptist church and 



45 



town hired a Baptist minister by the name 
of TFilmarth, to preach to them. They made 
a tax, and in the taxation included the old 
minister. He refused to pay the tax ; of 
course, they took his horse from him. The 
Lord's day after, having an appointment to 
preach nine miles from home, he walked to 
his meeting on foot, while his horse was con- 
fined in prison, and the other minister was 
preaching for the money which the horse 
was to bring him. This hireling has within 
a few months left the people to look out for 
themselves, and gone where he expects to 
get more ; having been favoured with a 
greater cawl" 

As the tory priesthood are continually 
trumpeting, that " the British are the bul- 
wark of our religion," and their king the 
" defender of the faith," I beg the reader 
to observe the proof, in the following re- 
marks. 

" Every possible effort has been made by 
the adherents of Britain • to enlist the feel- 
ings and prejudices of Americans in her 
cause, and deaden their sensibility to her in- 
sults and enormities. 

They have addressed themselves to our 
fears — for " she is the only barrier between 
France and universal despotism : w to our 
sympathies — for « she is the mother counf 



46 



try, ^ ie speaks with us a common language, 
and her soil entombs the ashes of our fa- 
thers." They have spoken to our literary 
prejudices— for « Shakespeare, and New- 
ton, and Locke are hers :" and lastly, to 
our piety — for " She is the Bulwark of our 
religion ! f 9 

~" It would be interesting to contemplate 
her in each of the attributed characters ; 
but with the profoundest veneration, let us 
now view her as the bulwark of our religion." 

" It scarce need be remarked, that she 
was thus characterized by the Chief Mag- 
istrate of Massachusetts, very soon after the 
commencement of the present war. Now if it 
be not rigidly true, that the enemy is the 
bulwark of our religion, I see not what can 
save His Excellency from the guilt and dis- 
grace of having uttered a falsehood of the 
most pernicious kind ; for if it is a false- 
hood, a pernicious one indeed must it be, as 
its tendency is to damp the martial ardour 
of all who believe it, and produce a fear in 
the minds of the pious, that in fighting 
against * the bulwark of our religion/ they 
might be found fighting against God. How 
stands the fact then ? From what does it ap- 
pear that Great Britain is the bulwark ot 
our religion ? Not surely from the persecu- 
tions, banishment And murders of her cath- 






47 



olic and dissenting subjects, for that only 
proves her the bulwark of her own * reli- 
gion by law established' — which is known 
by all who are acquainted with it, to be a 
thing not precisely synonimous with Chris- 
tianity, which, it is presumed, His Excel- 
lency meant by our religion. 

" But perhaps there is nothing capable of 
throwing more light on the subject, than 
certain statements made by Doctor Clau- 
dius Buchanan, in his « Christian Re- 
searches in Jisia f a work to which I would 
refer the reader, as containing much infor- 
mation, not only of the bulwark of our re- 
ligion, but of religion itself; and I must 
confess, that the facts there stated, place 
the Brtish government in a point of view so 
wicked and so detestable, that no authority 
short of that of a Divine of the Church of 
England, and a warm admirer of her gov- 
ernment, (as was Dr. Buchanan) would 
have commanded my belief of them. The 
facts are these ; read them, and see bow na- 
tions as well as individuals, sometimes, 

" With the semblance of devotion's visage, 
Do sugar o'er the Devil himself!" 

" A great proportion of tbe Asiatic sub- 
jects of Great Britain, worship an Idol cal- 
led Juggernaut, the ceremonies of whose 



48 



worship are the most obscene and most cruel 
that can be imagined— *as a proof of which 
take the following extracts from Buchanan's 
Journal of a Tour to his Temple : 

" « We know (says he) that we are ap- 
proaching Juggernaut, though more than 
fifty miles distant, by the human bones 
which we see strewed by the way." " This 
idol has been justly called the Moloch of 
the present age, and he is justly so named, 
for the sacrifices offered up to him by self- 
devotion are not less criminal, perhaps not 
less numerous, than those recorded of the 
Moloch of Canaan. The walls of the tem- 
ple are covered with indecent emblems, in 
massive and durable sculpture/ * At twelve 
o'clock this day, it being the great day of 
the feast, the Idol was brought out of his 
temple, amidst the acclamations of hundreds 
of thousands. The throne of the Idol was 
placed on a car sixty feet high, whose mas- 
sy wheelsindented the ground, as they turn- 
ed slowly under the ponderous machine. — 
After a few minutes the car stopped, and 
the worship began : a high-priest pronounc- 
ed obscene verses in the ears of the people, 
who responded in the same strain ; a pilgrim 
now announced that he was ready to offer 
himself a sacrifice to the Idol ; he laid him- 
self down before the car, as it was moving 



49 



along* and was crushed to death by the 

wheels of the tower and great numbers 

are annually sacrificed in the same way !' 

« Now let these things be borne in mind, 
and viewed in connection with what fol- 
lows : 

" <I feel it my duty (says Buchanan) Uy 
state, that these Idolaters arc our own sub- 
jects ; and that every one who can do it, 
PAYS A TRIBUTE TO THE BRI- 
TISH GOVERNMENT FOR LEAVE 
TO WORSHIP THIS IDOL ! ! !— This 
is called the Revenue of the Temple ; and a 

CIVIL OFFICER, SUPPORTED BY MILITARY 

force, is appointed [by the Bulwark of our 
Religion] to collect the tax from Pilgrims 
resorting to the Temple of Juggernaut ! — 
Other temples in Hindostan have been long 
considered as a legitimate source of re- 
venue P Again, « The Temple of Jug- 
gernaut is under our own immediate con- 
trol and management ; the law enacted for 
this purpose is entitled, A regulation for 
levying a tax from pilgrims resorting to the 
temple of Juggernaut. 5 
" Now let all this be briefly recapitulated : 
"1st. Millions of British subjects arc in 
the practice of a most abominable and cruel 
idolatry. 



50 



w 2d. It is in the power of the British 
government to stop it : by a single mandate, 
they could raze the temple, and knock the 
idol from his throne. 

" 5d, But instead of doing this, they to- 
lerate, they protect, they derive an enormous 
revenue from the worship of the idol. 9 

« 4th. In proof of this, we have the direct 
testimony of one of .the most eminent Di- 
vines Great Britain can boast. 

" 5th. And jet the American people are 
insulted (not to say that God is blasphemed) 
by a declaration, that « Great Britain is the 
Bulwark of religion ! ! !' " 

I beg those who invalidate the American* 
and extol the British government, and who 
contend that it is both reasonable and right, 
for one man* called a king, to receive one 
million and one hundred thousand pounds 
sterling, per annum, out of the public taxes, 
while many of the poor are perishing for 
want : yet the President of the United 
States, who does ten thousand times more- 
service, receives only about five thousand 
pounds sterling, per annum, salary. I 
therefore, entreat such persons candidly to 
read the following quotation, being facta 
related in a public meeting in London, by 
the best informed men in England,.. who-are 



51 



this moment sufferers on account of the 
crimes of their government. 

Mr. IJcntley being called to the chair, 
addressed the meeting in these words : — 
«• Gentlemen, from the paper which I hold in 
my hand, I shall be enabled to give you some 
specific items, which will I think, ineontest- 
ably prove, that Parliamentary reform can 
no longer be deferred, without incurring the 
risk of total ruin. Of the authenticity of 
tliis document there can be no doubt, for it 
bears the name of no less a person than his 
majesty's printer. I have, therefore, no 
hesitation in viewing the statements con- 
tained in it as facts. Gentlemen, a few 
years ago, a board for the encouragement of 
agriculture was established in this king- 
dom — than which no measure could be 
more laudable, or more congenial with the 
inclinations of the people. The establish- 
ment gave aniversal satisfaction, and exci- 
ted the most lively hope of the improvement 
of the art, the vigorous prosecution of which 
has ever been found to be the fundamental 
strength of all nations. By an address from 
the house of commons, the annual sum of 
3000/. was directed to be placed at the dis- 
posal of this society, for the purpose of pror 
moling the best views of the country. And 
h was deemed its importance, that it was 



52 

thought worthy Of the privilege of a patent, 
by which it was- established as a regular 
board. Letters patent were accordingly di- 
rected to be issued— the forms of office 
were regularly gone through, the letters pa- 
tent were fairly transcribed on vellum, and 
finally receiving the sanction of the great 
seal, they were perfected. There then re- 
mained only the usual, but in all cases indis- 
pensable ceremony, even those in which the 
national interest is concerned, of satisfying 
the demands of the officers through whose 
hands these letters patent had passed in their 
progress towards perfection. Now, what do 
you think gentlemen, was the amount of those 
charges for writing out fairly on a skin of 
vellum these letters patent, and passing them 
through the offices established for that pur- 
pose ? Only ELEVEN HUNDRED AND EIGH- 
TY-NINE POUNDS ONE SHILLING AND TWO 

pence!! [Scandalous! impossible! consi- 
derable agitation.] Gentlemen, if you doubt 
the fact, I have it in black and white ; print- 
ed by the king's own printer ! ! ! [Go on, go 
on.] Now is it possible, that an abuse so fla- 
grant as this is, could have been suffered to 
exist, if you had had a fair and honest re- 
presentation of the people in the house of 
commons? [No, no, no.] The next instance to 
which I beg kave to draw r your attention, ft 



5*i 

the justly celebrated Dr. Jenner, whose 
grand discovery, by which not only the peo- 
ple of England, but the whole human race, 
will he ultimately delivered from the scourge 
of one of the most loathsome diseases to 
which humanity is incident : you doubtless 
all remember, for that discovery the sum of 
10.0901. was voted by the unanimous voice 
of parliament, to Dr f Jenner; and certain I 
am, that the friends of humanity, of science, 
and of their country, did not think that rcr 
numeration more than adequate to the tran- 
scendent merits of I)r. Jenner. Gentlemen, 
$1 happened that the Doctor luckily had a 
friend in the house of commons, who know- 
ing something of the nature of these transac- 
tions, observing;, with affected carefulness, 
when the ten thousand pounds were pro- 
posed as a remuneration, f I suppose you 
mean the Doctor to have the clear sum of 
10,0001.?' Certainly, i Why, then it had 
better be specifically so expressed in the 
grant/ And so It was expressed : a few 
weeks after the Doctor had receiyed this 
sum of 10,0001. down conies the chancellor 
of exchequer to the house of commons, with 
his annual list of items required to he made 
good by that houuc— ami what do you think 
the official charge for paying the sum 
to lf)\ Jenner? Only 78 M. ! ! J Is it pes- 

V 



54 



sible that the people of England can anv 
longer preserve silence, under the existence 
of abuses so truly abominable ? In the name 
of God, what could the clerks in the public 
offices have to do in the payment of this 
sum granted by the house of commons, but 
to ascertain the authenticity of the grant, 
and the identity of the party to whom it was 
granted ? Why, gentlemen, there was no 
more difficulty in effecting this simple ope- 
ration, than in the payment by any of your- 
selves of a butcher or a baker's bill ! [Not 
a bit more— not so much.] And yet the 
enormous sum of 7851. is charged for this 
simple operation. The third instance which 
I shall adduce of profligate expenditure, is 
that of the repairs of a ship, the honour of 
commanding which was entrusted to a gen- 
tleman now in this room, from whom I re- 
ceivcd the information — Some trifling re- 
pairs being necessary, he put into Plymouth, 
where in two or three days, every thing was 
complete, and the vessel went 'out to sea 
again. The expense of these repairs might 
amount in the apprehension of the comman- 
der, to about 701. or SOL; what then was 
his astonishment, when accidentally casting 
his eye, at a public office, on a paper, in 
which this amongst other naval charges was 
stated, to see no less a sum than upwards of 



55 



10001. charged for what he thought could 
not exceed 701. or 801. [Scandalous!] Dur- 
ing the administration of Pitt, these corrup- 
tions were carried to a height that is almost 
incredible. Two noblemen high in office in 
the post-office, met together on the day of 
audit, for the purpose of passing the ac- 
counts; amongst otlier charges there was 
one, amounting to between two and three 
thousand pounds, for furnishing a certain 
house on Blackheath I do not venture to 
tell you that this house was for a mistress, 
though it certainly was for a lady. [Here 
Mr. Bentley was interrupted by Mr. Sheriff 
Hunter, who thought he was deviating from 
the question; but it appearing to be the 
sense of the meeting, from repeated cries 
of « go on,' 'go on/ that he should proceed, 
Mr. Bentley continued.] Gentlemen, one 
of these noblemen, to whom all this was 
new, remonstrated : the other assured him 
that it was quite the custom, but that if he 
did not like to pass it in that shape, lie 
might place it to the account of coals and 
candles; but this ignorant nobleman was in- 
flexible — if, sars he, you want the money, 
I will cheerfully give it you out of my own 
pocket, but this outrage on common sense 
and common honesty I will not sanction. — 
The other grumbled, but all in vain — the 



56 



item was ■'■excluded,- but* the audit was not 
on that day completed — and on the follow- 
ing morning the nobleman, whose ignorance 
of the forms and customs so evidently inca- 
pacitated Mm from the fulfilling his duty, 
received an intimation that his future ser- 
vices were unnecessary ! ! ! [Hear ! hear J 
go on ! go on !] From this paper, 1 could 
adduce instances of wairton, lavish expendi- 
ture, which would detain you here till mid^- 
night; but I will not trespass much longer 
upon your time.- — At the commencement of 
the American war, the public debt amount? 
ed to no less than 170 millions sterling; the, 
same debt, on the 5th of Jan. last, amount- 
ed to the enormous sum of 676,575,769ly 
and of this debt, notwithstanding the boast-? 
ed operation for redeeming it, no less than 
118,032,7631. has been incurred since the 
year 1803 ! ! ! Gentleineiv I will only trou- 
ble you with a few more items. [Go on ! 
Go on !] Gentlemen, the public expendi- 
ture of this kingdom amounts to 83,099,1811. 
exclusive of that for Ireland, which amount- 
ing to seven millions, make around sum ex- 
ceeding ninety millions expended in one 
year ! ! ! [Considerable agitation ; applauses* 
and go on, go on.] It may perhaps he ask- 
ed, how we happened to have been thus 
plunged into' this disastrous war? I Imovv 



57 

<if but one reason j and I blush tor English- 
men, in giving it ; our refusal to fulfil the 
letter and spirit of a treaty deliberately en- 
tered into, and ratified and confirmed by the 
king and parliament ! Could this breach of 
public faith have possibly happened, if we 
had a fair representation of the people iu 
parliament — if we had an upright, indepen- 
dent house of commons, the duty of which 
it is, or ought to be, to controul ministers, 
and prevent them from wantonly plunging 
the country into war ! ! ! But it was that fa- 
tal war that laid the foundation of all this 
misery ! ! ! The seconder of the original mo- 
tion has told you very candidly of the opera- 
tion of the taxes : but what will you say, 
when I assert, that were, every acre of land 
in the kingdom sold for its present value, it 
would be insufficient for the discharge of our 
public debt! [Hear! considerable tumult.] 
Our ministers, who exercise a most unlimit- 
ed controul, think they can dragoon the 
whole world into their measures, as they 
have done the whole people of this country; 
but in this they have found themselves mis- 
taken — they have tried America, and failed 
in the attempt. I shall now conclude with 
this one remark — There is not in Europe, 
at this moment, a country in which an Eng- 
lish ambassador can shew his face ; and in 



58 



making this assertion, I trust I shall not be 
reminded of the precarious residence at 
Constantinople and Stockholm. The time 
was, when in every country in Europe, the 
ambassador of England claimed the highest 
respect and consideration. In fine, nothing 
but perseverance on the part of the people 
can effect reform ; and until that be effect- 
ed, there is no hope for the people of Eng- 
land, of the correction of those abuses and 
corruptions, which are daily, nay, hourly, 
sapping the very vitals of the country and 
of the constitution ! ! ! [Very great applause 
for some minutes.]" 

But it is not England alone, that suf- 
fers by the rapacity, the villany of their 
agents, and the debaucheries of royalty: 
the whole world participates, either less or 
more, the deleterious effects of their wretch- 
ed policy. While the innocent orphan, and 
weeping widow are forced to eat grains to 
keep them from starvation, (as was actually 
the case with a widow and her famished 
children, in the suburbs of the city of Dub- 
lin) the sons and associates of royal majesty 
are encircled by the mast extravagant sen- 
suality, fascinating wantons, and voluptuous 
scenes, Their tyrannical measures, and 
despotic viceroys, nabobs and agents in eve- 
ry clime, trample upon the dearest affection 



59 

of the soul, and annihilate the most precious 
lights of man; and at the same time, revel 
amidst the cries of poverty, and the expiring 
victims of want, exclusively produced by 
their usurpation. Many thousands this very 
moment, are drinking the last dregs of the 
cup of misery, and are immolated on the 
royal and imperial altars of privileged vice 
and crowned immorality ; while millions of 
miscreants, who, blinded by gold dust, or 
degraded by habitual servility, bow with all 
lowliness at the approach of bloody kings 
and priests, and run at their commands, to 
exterminate their poor unhappy fellow- 
worms from the face of the earth. 

Now, in order to consolidate an assertion 
made in the antecedent pages, namely, that 
•■« there is no excuse for an Irish tory," I 
will introduce the sentiments of an Irish 
lord, delivered in the English house of 

Is. 

Extract from Earl Moira*s speech in tlte 
English /muse oj lords, on the %2& of $tb~ 
member, 1797. 

" My lords, I have seen in Ireland the 
'most absurd, as well as the most disgusting 
tyranny, that any nation ever groaned un- 
der. I have been mvself a witness of it in 



w 

many instances: I have seen it practised 
and unchecked ; and the effects that have 
resulted from it have heen such as I have 
stated to your lordships. I have said, that 
if such tyranny be persevered in, the conse- 
quences must inevitably be, the deepest and 
most universal discontent, and even hatred 
to the English name. I have seen in that 
country a marked distinction made between 
the English and Irish. 

" I have seen troops that have been sent 
full of this prejudice, that every inhabitant 
in that kingdom is a rebel to the British 
government. I have seen the most wanton 
insults practised upon men of all ranks and 
conditions. I bave seen the most grievous 
oppressions exercised, in consequence of a 
presumption that the person who was the 
object of such oppression, w r as in hostility 
to the government; and yet that has been 
done in a part of the country as quiet and 
free from disturbance as the city of Lon- 
don. Who states these things, my lords* 
should, I know, be prepared with proofs. I 
am prepared with them. Many of the cir- 
cumstances I know of my own knowledge, 
others I have received from such channels, 
as will not permit me to hesitate one mo- 
ment in givine credit to them. 



61 



** His lordship then observed, that from 
education and early habits, the Curfew was 
ever considered by Britons as a badge of sla- 
very and oppression. It was then practised 
in Ireland with brutal rigor. He had known 
an instance, where the master of a house 
had in vain pleaded to be allowed the use of 
a candle, for the mother to administer relief 
to her daughter, struggling in convulsive 
fits. In former times, it had been the cus- 
tom for Englishmen to hold the infamous 
proceedings of the inquisition in destcsta- 
tion : one of the greatest horrors with wiiich 
it was attended, was, that the person, igno- 
rant of the crime laid to his charge, or of 
his accuser, was torn from his family, im- 
mured in a prison, and in the most cruel 
uncertainty as to the period of his confine- 
ment, or the fate which awaited him. To 
this injustice, abhorred by Protestants, in 
the practice of the inquisition, were the peo- 
ple of Ireland exposed— All confidence, all 
security was taken away. In alluding to 
the inquisition, he had omitted to mention 
one of its characteristic features, if the sup- 
posed culprit refused to acknowledge the 
crime with which he was charged, he was 
put to the rack to extort confession of what- 
ever crime was alledged against him by the 
pressure of torture. The same proceedings 



liad been introduced in Ireland. When a 
man was taken up on suspicion, he was put 
to the torture ; nay, if he were merely accus- 
ed of concealing the guilt of another. The 
rack indeed, was not at hand; but the pun- 
ishment of piqueting was in practice, which 
had been for some years abolished, as too 
inhuman, even in the dragoon service. 

" He had known a man, in order to ex- 
tort confession for a supposed crime, or of 
that of some of his neighbours, picqueted 
until, he actually fainted; picqueted a 
second time until he fainted again; and 
as he came to himself, picqueted a third 
time until he once more fainted, and all 
upon mere suspicion! Nor was this the 
only species of torture: men had been taken 
and hung until they were half dead, and 
then threatened with a repetition of their 
cruel treatment, unless they made confession 
of their imputed guilt. These were not 
particular acts of cruelty, exercised by men 
abusing the power committed to them, but 
they formed part of our system.-— They 
were notorious, and no one could say who* 
would be the next victim of this oppression 
and cruelty which he saw others endure.' 5 

In a subsequent speech the same nobleman 
observes : 

" That many individuals had been torn 
from their families, and locked up for 



63 

months in the closest confinement, without 
hearing by whom they were accused, with 
what crime they were charged, or to what 
means they might recur to prove, their in- 
nocence ; that great numbers of houses hart 
been burned, with the whole property of 
their wretched owners, upon the loosest 
supposition of even petty transgressions ; 
that torture, by which he meant picqueting 
and half hanging, continued to be used to 
extort from the suffer a charge against his 
neighbours." 

It should be remembered, that Ireland 
has been in a state of vassalage to England 
for some centuries. If it should be said 
they are now united as one, 1 answer, if 
they are united, it is as master and slave. * 

* Hear what Mr. Barrington says on this subject : — 
" Mr Barnngton (judge of the Admiralty) rose 
with great agitation. The existence of Ireland was- 
in question, and he felt his feeble talents shrink be- 
fore the colossal magnitude of the subject : he had 
heard of calm and dispassionate discussion ; it was 
the language of a slave; he who could reflect on the 
annihilation of his country; with apathy or indiffer. 
ence, must be less than man. or more than mortal. 
Whatever capacity, whatever spirit, whatever energy. 
God or nature had given him, he considered himself 
as holding but in trust for his country, to be expend- 
ed for her use, whenever her oppressions or distiesses 
drew for their assistance. He loved his king, he 
adored the constitution, and he now considered him- 
self as defending both, against the desperate system 



64 



Wherefore, can that Irishman he a patriot, 
who warmly advocates the government that 

of an indefinitely ambitious minister. The Irish par- 
liament bad heretofore deliberated on revocable local 
regulat ons, or national arrangement, but now a 
mighty and imperial question opened itself for their 
discussion: a project, to subject irrevocably one in- 
dependent country to the will of another, and both to 
the will of a minister already stronger than the crown, 
and more powerful than the people ; and this great and 
important usurpation, stolen into parliament through 
the fulsome paragraphs of an echoing congratulation, 
pledging the house to the discussion of a principle 
subversive of their liberties, and in the hour of con- 
valescence calling on it to commit suicide. Ireland 
had not fair play ; her parliament had not fair play ; 
the foulest and most unconstitutional means, he be- 
lieved, had been used to intimidate and corrupt it, 
and either to force or to seduce a suffrage, when no- 
thing but general, independent, uninfluenced opinion 
could warrant for a moment the most distant view of 
so ruinous a subject. He had good reason to believe, 
that corrupt and unconsti utional means had been 
used by the noble lord to individuals of the Irish par- 
liament. Some of those means were open and avowed : 
two of the oldest, most respectable, and most beloved 
officers of the crown had been displaced, because 
they presumed to hint an opinion adverse to the 
stripling's dictates, on a subject where their country 
was at stake ; their removals crowned them with glo- 
ry, and the minister with contempt. He asserted, 
that other gentlemen in office, whose opinions were 
decidedly adverse to the measure, but whose circum- 
stances could not i>ear similar sacrifices, were dragged 
to The altar of pollution, and forced ogainst their will 
to vote against their country ; he had good reason to 
believe, that unconstitutional interference had been 



63 

lias enslaved his country ? No ! — he is a 
traitor ! and not a patriot ! ! 

used by the executive power with the legislative body ; 
one gentleman refused the instructions of his consti- 
tuents and had been promoted. Peerages (as was 
rumoured) were bartered for the rights of minors, 
and every effort used to destroy the free agency of 
parliament ; if this were true, it encroached on the 
constitution, and if the executive power overstept its 
bounds, the people were warranted to do the same 
on their part, and between both it might be annihi- 
lated, and leave the wondering world in amazement, 
how the same people could have been wise enough 
to frame the best constitution upon earth, and foolish 
enough to destroy it. One king and two kingdoms 
was the cry of the people in Ireland. The British 
minister had too much wisdom to have pressed this 
measure on Ireland, had he known her temper and 
situation; but he had been greatly deceived by misre- 
presentation from that country ; hot headed injudi- 
cious spirits had been listened to, whilst the sage and 
honest representation of the wisest of Ireland's chil- 
dren had been disregarded. These were objections 
to any discussion of the subject ; and much as he re- 
spected Great Britain, no idle parade of compliment 
should prevail upon him one moment to lose sight of 
Ireland. He then argued at length on the incompe- 
tence of the Irish commons to surrender the essence of 
their delegation. 

•• The treacherous reasons assigned for the com- 
pletion of this project, were their differences and 
misfortunes; differences which arose from the dupli- 
city of that same minister, who now sought to subdue 
them, and misfortunes which were stimulated by him, 
to adapt them for his own conqtu- 
% F 



66 



Hence I have come to this conclusion. 
never to expect by argumentation to meta- 

" Why should they apply to 547 English and 
Scotchmen to arrange their trade and modify their 
national establishments ? It was absurd and insolent to 
demand, and it would be mean vicious and pusillani- 
mous to submit to it. 

u Great Britain had nothing to give, which could 
compensate the loss of independence, they asked no 
favour from her, and would submit to no injury, they 
would unite with her as a friend and as a sister in the 
common cause ; their lives and their properties should 
be united with her in support of their king and con- 
stitution ; they would rise and fall with her ; but they 
would not submit to be ruled by a British faction, 
and plundered by a British minister, to satisfy the 
avarice or the jealousy of those persons, to whose 
confidence and liberality that minister owed his grati- 
tude, and which he cou;d only repay by heaping bur- 
thens upon Ireland. It was clear as noon-day that 
his system had been most treacherous ; his govern- 
ment in Ireland excited the different sects to oppose 
each other: an indolent system was adopted, to per- 
mit some strength to the disaffected ; then a vigorous 
system, to give energy to the loyalists. Then govern- 
ment acted on the defensive against treason ; then 
the minister plunged into martial law ; the Catholic 
and the Protestant were alternately encouraged and 
depressed ; the loyalty of the yeomanry saved Ire- 
land ; both parties had bled and were weak; and 
what is called the lenient system was adopted ; the 
rebel was pardoned, and sent back to rob, to murder, 
and burn ; the yeoman and the loyalist were either 
insulted, oppressed, or degraded, in some instances 
executed ; the loyal national spirit was purposely 
suppressed ; and when all was ripe for a government 



67 

morphose an Irish traitor to an American 
patriot. He who has proved false to his 
own country, never will prove true to the 
United States. Could i exhibit a narrative 
of the super-inhuman slaughter, promis- 
cuous lust, literal starvation and intellectual 
degradation produced in Ireland, by the 
Irish partizans of England, called the 
Orange -men, 

revolution, the measure of an Union, equally oppres- 
sive and disgusting to every class and every sect, was 
brought forward, in expectation that the Irish were 
too worn, too weak, and too ind fferent to resist or 
reject any thing which professed to be for their tran- 
quillization. And to prove that this system was. 
adopted for these purposes, it was only necessary to 
recollect the words of the noble lord who proposed 
it • ■ that it had been a measure long considered and 
maturely weighed.' If that were the case it was ob- 
vious, that it might have been brought forward in a 
time of tranquillity ; and equally obvious, that it had 
been purposely postponed till that desperate system 
had sufficiently worked upon the nation to adapt it 
to the minister's will and pleasure. But the parlia- 
ment had yet virtue enough to resist an act of na- 
tional degradation. The British minister had better 
be aware of this system of treachery and fraterniza- 
tion ; it was by the very same means and for the 
very same objects that the French Republic had over- 
run all Europe ; and with the very same system, and 
for the very same purposes that she had assailed Ire- 
land. A desperate example to the British empire, 
and an attempt unworthy of the generosity and cha- 
racter of the British nation ? " 



68 



41 No human ear the dreadful tale could hear; 
Nor Satan's self relate without a tear." 

Let any candid man read the inimitable 
speech of Robert Emmet, the Irish patri- 
otic martyr, on the margin of the grave, for 
a proof of the above assertion. I cannot 
resist the inclination I feel to give the rea- 
der a short quotation from that lengthy 
speech, which was delivered before a eroud- 
ed court of justice, in the presence of lord 
Norbury. 

" I wished to gain for my country, (ex- 
claims this undaunted patriot) the guaran- 
tee which Washington procured for Ame- 
rica. Let no man dare, when I am dead, 
to charge me with dishonour : let no man 
attaint my memory." Alas, poor Emmet! 
not only in ^your own enslaved country, but 
<even in America, this land of liberty, there 
ftave been, and now are, Irish tory miscre- 
ants who charge you with dishonour, and 
the most detestable villany ! who attaint your 
memory with exultation and impunity. 
*< My lords, (continues he) you seem impa- 
tient for the sacrifice— the blood for which 
you thirst, is not congealed by the artificial 
terrors which surround your victim ; it cir- 
culates warmly and unruffled, through the 
channels which God created for noble pur- 
poses, but which you are bent to destroy, 



69 

for purposes so grievous, that they cry to 

heaven Be yet patient ! I have but a fc\y 

more words to say — 1 am going to my cold 
and silent grave : my lamp of life is nearly 
extinguished : my race is run : the grave 
opens to receive me, and I sink into its bo- 
som! ever dear and venerated shade 

of my departed father, look down with scru- 
tiny upon the conduct of your suffering son ! 
and see if I have, even for a moment, devi- 
ated from those principles of morality and 
patriotism, which it was your care to instill 
into my youthful mind, and for which I am 

now to offer up my life ! 1 have but one 

request to ask at my departure from this 
world, it is the charity of its silence !— -Let 
no man write my epitaph ; for as no man 
who knows my motives dare now vindicate 
them, let not prejudice or ignorance asperse 
them. Let them and me repose in obscu- 
rity and peace, and my tomb remain unin- 
scribed, until other times, and other men, 
eaii do justice to my character; when my 
country takes her place among the nations 
of the earth. .•.then — and not till then — let 
my epitaph be written*" 

Yes. injured Emmet ! when the names of 
lord Chief Justice Norbury, and the Right 
Hon. and Right Rev. villains who co-ope- 
rated with him to take your life, and the 



70 

Irfsli tories and traitors in Europe and Ame- 
rica, who applaud them for the super-inhu- 
man deed, are consigned to ignoble obli- 
vion, or remembered only to he execrated— 
when ages yet unborn shall abominate their 
iateful memory, and curse their guilty 
ashes, they will shed the tear of regret on 
your tomb — they will lament your premature 
death ; and will raise, even in your own be- 
loved country, a mausoleum to perpetuate 
the memory of your patriotic endeavours, to 
liberate it from a foreign yoke, and the cor- 
responding endeavours of your co-patriots. 
Till that auspicious period arrives, suffer 
your own language to be paraphrased by 
one who felt the severity of your fate — one 
who was a friend to injured innocence ; and, 
like yourself, an advocate for the rights of 
man : 

* Let no inscription mark my tomb» 

Vntil my country shall be free, 
And when emerging from the gloom, 

It sets its foot on tyranny. 

When in the land that gave me birth. 

The patriot may in safety stroll, 
My spirit then will spring to earth, 

And hold communion with the soul. 

What honours thicken ronnd the name 
Of the true friend to freedom's cause ! 

His virtues on the roll of fame, 
Will claim his country's best applause. 



71 

He, like a meteor's lambent blaze, 
Will burst upon the astonish'd sight 

And ere ye mark its glowing rays, 
The torch of liberty will light. 

I cravM the boon — but was denied, 

I must not live to see thee free ; 
Erin, farewell \ the hero cried, 

Remember Emmet died for thee- 

Where now alone the cyphrus glotfm, 
Marks to the eye that sacred spot, 

Soon will the laurel deck his tomb, 
Though for a time he seems forgot." 

I will now take the liberty to give the 
reader an idea of the British finances, by 
introducing a quotation from an Address to 
the Prince Regent on the American war; 
and then let him judge, if it is either just or 
generous to take out of the public taxes 
1,100,0001. for the civil list of a royal lu- 
natic. 

« As to * the exhausting the resources of 
America,' which now begins to be talked of 
by that most corrupt of newspapers, the 
Times, I do most earnestly beseech your 
royal highness, to bear in mind how long 
the late Pitt promised this deluded nation 
that he would exhaust the resources of re- 
publican France! Sir, Mr. Madison, though 
a very plain dressed, sleek-headed man; 
though he wears neither tails nor bags, nor 
big wi&Sj jior j;obes : ,thgugfe fee &£S4?£ ift a 



72 

pepper-and-salt coat, and a nice dimity Waist- 
coat, knows a great deal more of our real 
situation than I believe many of your minis- 
ters know of it; and I should not wonder if 
lie knew almost as much of it as your royal 
highnesses self does. He is a man, sir, who 
is not to be led by our hireling prints, he sees 
our gold at above five pounds an ounce ; he 
has seen acts passed, which in effect force 
the circulation of our bank notes ; and seeing 
this he does not want any body to tell him 
what is coming ; seeing this he will laugh at 
the idea of our exhausting the resources of 
America, the capital of whose whole debt 
does not amount to a tenth part of one half 
of the interest upon our debt. This ground of 
hope is, sir, more visionary than any other. 
Indeed, they are all equally visionary. 
There is no hope of any thing but loss and 
injury to us by a war with America. 

" I have now done all that I am able, to 
prevent this calamity. If the war proceeds, 
I shall say as little about it as circumstances 
will permit. I have lost no occasion of endea- 
vouring to put aside this evil ; and when the 
result 6f the contest shall be lamented— 
- Y/hen/thpse -who -.now rejoice at the idea of 
doing mischief to freemen, shall be weeping 
over their folly, I trust that your royal high- 
ness will have the justice to remember, that 



73 

this war had a decided opponent in your 
faithful servant, 

William Cobbje1\" 

I intended to close this department with 
the foregoing epitaph of Robert Emmet, 
Esq. ; but the lamented execution of that 
patriotic gentleman has brought a train of 
thoughts to my mind, relative to the mise- 
rable condition of the Irish population, 
through the insatiable cruelty, rapacity, and 
perfidy of despotism, and its auxiliaries, 
bigotry ^ and prejudice, parasites and syco- 

* Nothing can be more amiable and estimable, 
than a liberal spirit ; and nothing can be more exe*» 
< rable and detestable, than a spirit of bigotry. He 
who possesses liberality of sentiment, can receive 
benefit in every denomination, however diversified 
their forms may be: but the bigoted ecclesiastic can 
receive instruction only from his own professional 
denomination ; because he thinks all others are wrong. 
Thus, if we believe what the different sects say of 
one another, we must believe they are all wrong j and 
if we believe what they say of themselves, we must 
believe they are all right. For my part, I think they 
are all right, and all wrong ; that is, they have all 
got right things and wrong things, good people and 
bad people among them. I have visited a Jewish 
synagogue, and received instruction. In a Romish. 
i;hurch in this city, (Philadelphia) I have heard with, 
pleasure and profit, the most excellent sermon on the 
rood Samaritan, I ever heard in my life, and from. 
>f the greatest pulpit orators in America* I Irave 
Q 



74 

phants, which I do not feel myself at liberty 
to reject ; as they are particularly calculated 
10 demonstrate the wrongs and usurpations 
of monarchy. A warning voice may be 
heard from the rock of Ireland, as well as 
the mountains of Switzerland, calling upon 
the free-born sons of Columbia to beware of 
the spirit of despotism and its votaries, to- 
ries. and Orange men : their inexorable 
malice and cruelty is printed in capitals, 
with the innocent and patriotic blood of 
thousands and tens of thousands of their 
poor unfortunate countrymen. 

received information and benefit at the churches of 
the Baptists the Presbyterians, the Moravians, the 
Quakers, the Christians, but particularly the Metho- 
dist;, whom I always will love and venerate ; yet in 
al* ihese respectable societies 1 see fundamental er- 
rors. They have all, in my view degenerated from 
the Apostolie mode and even the Jews have also 
degenarated from the Mosaic economy — for instance, 
there was more liberty in the ancient synagogues than 
In our modern ones or even in our Christian churches. 
Our Saviour was permitted by the Jewish priests to 
bea a faithful testimony to the truth, although, he was 
hated and despised by them And the Jews at Antioch 
grave this liberty. See Acts xiii. 15. •« And after the 
reading of the law and the prophets, the rulers of 
the synagogue sent unto them, saying. Ye men and 
brethren ; if ye have any word of exhortation for the 
people say on." To the Jews of Philadelphia I 
would say * Go ye and do likewise." Surely the li- 
berty, as well as the forms of the ancient synagogues, 
should be continued in the modern ones. 



If ever an aristocratical party gets a firm 
footing in America, we may ascertain what 
our sufferings will be, by taking the most 
superficial glance at the endeavours of the 
patriots of Ireland, to deliver their degrad- 
ed, humiliated and half devoured country 
from a foreign yoke. The attempt, though 
injudicious, was truly noble; but, alas ! the 
catastrophe was lamentable indeed. 

The Orange men and traitors from Ire- 
land, when arrived in this, the only land of 
liberty on earth, endeavour to depreciate 
and calumniate the united Irishmen. Hence, 
with half the population of the United States, 
the epitaph United Irishman, and Jacobin, 
murderer, robber, are all synonimous terms. 
The imported Orange -man will very com- 
posedly wipe his mouth, and, with a sanc- 
timonious countenance, declare to his Ame- 
rican neighbour, that they are a brutish, 
vulgar herd; the unlettered tillers of the 
«oil ; incapable of comprehending either the 
tics of moral obligation, or even the funda- 
mental principles of society. These men, 
who thus invalidate the poor, but industri- 
ous and virtuous part of their countrymen, 
will, spaniel-like, fawn at the feet of, and 
flatter with fulsome adulation, an English 
lord lieutenant of Ireland, although the 
most wicked and worthless of mankind ; and 



76 

lick thjB dust that crowned ruffians walk up- 
on, if by so doing, they can court their royal 
favour. Such men take pride only in acci- 
dental birth, wealth and education ; and lit- 
tle regard the men, whose hard toil, embar- 
rassed with a thousand privations, obtains 
for them the bread they eat, the clothes they 
wear, and the coffins in which they are bu- 
ried. Thus, while honest though indigent 
industry is traduced by such servile mis- 
creants, privileged idleness, and crowned 
imposition are extolled to the skies, and ex- 
hibited for popular admiration, embellished 
with a thousand golden lies. Believe not, 
therefore, the unfounded assertions of these 
tory calumniators, is free-bo&n sons of 
Columbia ! Yes, generous Americans ! the 
true, but alas ! calamitous ease of the pa- 
triots of Ireland has only to be exhibited to 
your view, to call forth your wannest com- 
miseration. Like your heroic and patriotic 
fathers, they willed freedom, and they 
fought to be free; but, unlike them, they 
were sold for royal gold by the treacherous 
parasites of tiion arehy , an J ove rwhel m e d by 
tm numbers and discipline of its soldiery. 
Read their history, and judge what your 
fate would have been, if, like them, unsuc- 
cessful; and be thankful to the Supreme Dis- 
poser of all events. Men, who are inspired 



77 

with the love of civil liberty and all man*- 
kind, will feel a sympathy for each other, 
although placed at the antipodes of the 
earth : nothing intermediate can destroy the 
interest they feel for each other's welfare. 

In order that those who have imbibed 
wrong ideas relative to the United Irish- 
men, may be undeceived, I will take the li- 
berty to subjoin a declaration from their 
society, wherein the true American and 
honest votary of republicanism, whether 
Federal or Democratic, will contemplate 
with satisfaction the compass, the purity, the 
energy of their sentiments, relative to the 
natural and political rights of man : 

Friday, 30th Dec. 1791, 

Society of United Irishmen of Dublin. 

The honourable Simon Butler in the chair* 

Resolved unanimously, that the following 
circular letter, reported by our committee 
of correspondence, be adopted and print- 
ed. 

« THIS letter is addressed to you from 
the corresponding committee of the society 
of United Irishmen in Dublin. 

« We annex the declaration of political 
principles, which we have subscribed* and 



78 

the test which we have taken, as a social 
and sacred compact to bind us more closely 
together. 

" The object of this institution is to make 
an united society of the Irish nation ; to 
make all Irishmen citizens ; all citizens 
Irishmen : nothing appearing to us more 
natural at all times, ami at this crisis of 
Europe more reasonable, than that those 
who have common interest, and common 
enemies, wh0 suffer common wrongs, and 
lay claim t.0 common rights, should know 
each other, and should act together. In 
our opinion, ignorance has been the de- 
mon of discord, which has so long depriv- 
ed Irishmen, not only of the blessings of 
well regulated government, but even the 
common benefits of civil society. Peace in 
this Island has hitherto been a peace on the 
principles and with the consequences of 
civil war. For a century past there has in- 
deed been tranquillity, but to most of our 
dear countrymen it has been the tranquillity 
of a dungeon ; and if the land lias lately 
prospered, it has been owing to the goodness 
of Providence, and the strong efforts of hu- 
man nature resisting and overcoming the 
malignant influence of a miserable adminis- 
tration. 



79 

" To resist tliis influence, which rules by 
discord and embroils by system, it is in 
vain to act as individuals or as parties ; it 
becomes necessary by an union of minds, 
and a knowledge of eacli other, to will and 
act as a nation. To know eacli other is to 
know ourselves; the weakness of one, and 
the strength of many. Union therefore is 
power ; it is wisdom ; it must prove liberty. 

« Our design therefore in forming this 
society, is to give an example, which, when 
well followed, must collect the public will, 
and concentrate the public power into one 
solid mass, the effect of which, once put in 
motion, must be rapid, momentous, and con- 
sequential. 

" In thus associating, we have thought 
little about our ancestors, much of our pos- 
terity. Are we for ever to walk like beasts 
of prey, over fields which these ancestors 
stained with blood ? In looking back, we 

nothing on the one part but savage force 
succeeded by savage policy ; on the other, 
ah unfortunate nation, * scattered and peeled, 
meted out and trodden down!? We see a 
mutual intolerance, and a common carnage of 
the first moral emotions of the heart, which 
lead us to estovi.p and place confidence in 
pur fellow-creauires. We sec this, and are 
ifilent; but we gladly look forward to 



80 



brighter prospects, to a people united in the 
fellowship of freedom, to a parliament the 
express image of the people, to a prosperity 
established on civil and political liberty, to 
a peace, not the gloomy and precarious still- 
ness of men brooding over their wrongs, but 
that stable tranquillity which rests on the 
rights of human nature, and leans on the 
arms by which these rights are to be main- 
tained. 

** Our principal rule of conduct has been 
to attend to those things in which we agree, 
to exclude from our thoughts those in which 
we differ. We agree in knowing what are 
our rights, and in daring to assert thenn If 
the rights of men be duties to God, we are 
in this respect of one religion. Our creed 
of civil faith is the same ; we agree in 
thinking, that there is not an individual 
among our millions, whose happiness can be 
established on any foundation so rational 
and so solid, as on the happiness of the whole 
community. We agree therefore, in the 
necessity of giving political value and sta- 
tion to the great majority of the people ; and 
we think, that whosoever desires an amend- 
ed constitution, without including the great 
body of the people, must on his own princi- 
ples be convicted of political persecutions, 
stnd political monopoly. If the present 



81 



electors be themselves a morbid part of our 
constitution, where are we to recur for re- 
dress but to the whole community ? « A 
more unjust and absurd constitution cannot 
be devised than that which condemns the 
natives of a country to perpetual servitude, 
under the arbitrary dominion of strangers 
and slaves.' 

" We agree in thinking, that the first and 
most indispensable condition of the laws of 
a free state, is the assent of those whose 
obedience they require, and for whose 
benefit only they are designed. Without, 
therefore, an impartial and adequate re- 
presentation of the community, we agree 
in declaring, we can have no constitution, 
no country, no Ireland. Without this, our 
late revolution we declare to be fallacious 
and ideal; a thing much talked of, but nei- 
ther felt nor seen. The act of Irish sove- 
reignty has been merely tossed out of the 
English houses into the cabinet of the minis- 
ters ; and nothing remains to the people, 
who of right are every thing, but a servile 
majesty and a ragged independence. 

•* We call most earnestly on every great 
and good man, who at the late era spoke or 
acted for his country, to consider less of 
what was done than of what there remains 
to do. We call upon their senatorial wisdom 



82 



to consider the monstrous and immeasurable 
distance which separates in this island the 
ranks of social life, makes labour ineffec- 
tu i\ 9 taxation unproductive, and divides the 
nation into petty despotism and public mi- 
s We call upon their tutelar genius to 

r iber, that government is instituted to 
remedy, not to render more grievous, the 
natural inequality of mankind, and that un- 
less the rights of the whole community be 
asserted, anarchy (we cannot call it govern- 
ment) must continue to prevail, when the 
strong tyrannize, the rich oppress, and the 
mass are brayed in a mortar. We call upon 
them, therefore, to build their arguments 
and their actions on the broad platform of 
general good. 

** Let not the right of nature be enjoyed 
merely by connivance, and the rights of con- 
science merely by toleration. If you raise 
up a prone people, let it not be merely to 
their knees, let the nation stand. Then 
will it cast away the bad habit of servitude 
which has brought with it indolence, igno- 
rance, an extinction of our faculties, an aban- 
donment of our very nature. Then will 
every right obtained, every franchise exer- 
cised, prove a seed of sobriety, industry, 
and regard to character, and th% manners of 



83 



the people will be formed on the model of 
their free constitution. 

" This rapid exposition of our principles, 
our object, and our rule of conduct* must 
naturally suggest the wish of multiplying 
similar societies, and the propriety of ad- 
dressing such a desire to you. Is it neces- 
sary for us to request, that you will hold out 
your hand, and open your heart to your 
countryman, townsman, neighbour ? Can 
you form a hope for political redemption, 
and by political penalties, or civil excommu- 
nications, withhold the rights of nature from 
your brother? We beseech you rally all the 
friends of liberty within your circle round 
this society as a centre. Draw together 
your best and bravest thoughts, your best 
and bravest men. You will experience, as 
we have done, that those points of union 
will quickly attract members, while the as- 
semblage of such societies, acting in concert, 
moving as one body, with one impulse, and 
one direction, will, in no long time, become 
not parts of the nation, but the nation itself; 
speaking with its voice, expressing its will, 
resistless in its power. 

*• We again entreat vou to look around 
for men fit to form those stable supports, on 
which Ireland may rest the lever of liberty. 
If there be but ten, take those ten. If there 



84 



be but two, take those two, and trust with 
confidence to the sincerity of your intention, 
the justice of your cause, and the support 
of your country. 

" Two objects interest the nation, a plan 
of representation, and the means of accom- 
plishing it. These societies will be a most 
powerful means ; but a popular plan would 
itself be a means for its own accomplish- 
ment. We have therefore to request, that 
your will favour us with your ideas respect- 
ing the plan, which appears to you most 
eligible, on the present more enlarged and 
liberal principles which actuate the peo- 
ple ; at the same time giving your senti- 
ments upon our national coalition, on the 
means of promoting it, and on the political 
state and disposition of the country or town 
where you reside. We know what resist- 
ance will be made to your patriotic efforts, 
by those who triumph in the disunion and 
degradation of their country. The greater 
the necessity of reform, the greater probably 
will be the resistance : we know, that there 
is much spirit that requires being brought 
into mass, as well as much massy body that 
must be refined into spirit. We have many 
enemies, and no enemy is contemptible ; we 
do not despise the enemies of the union, the 
liberty and the peace of Ireland, but we ,arfc 



85 



not of nature, nor have we encouraged the 
habit of fearing any man, or any body of 
frien, in an honest and honourable cause. 
In great undertakings like the present, we 
declare, that we have found it always more 
difficult to attempt, than to accomplish. The 
people of Ireland must perform all they 
wish, if they attempt all that they can. 
<* Signed by order, 

* Jambs Nafper Tandy, Sec. 

All true friends to the liberty and hap- 
piness of mankind, will hail the happy day 
when the standard of civil liberty is unfurl- 
ed in Ireland, and receives the homage of 
an oppressed but enlightened people. They 
will remember with grateful sensations the 
" times that tried men's souls ;" when the rage 
of the Hanoverian royal family of England, 
pursued with the most cruel tyranny, the 
American population who dared to be free 
and independent. They will hail the auspi- 
cious day with the most pleasurable gratula- 
tion, when Columbia gave the signal of in- 
surrection against all usurpations, against all 
prejudices, against all illegitimate authori- 
ties; when the eloquent and powerful voice 
of a whole people in asserting their rights, 
was heard even across the Atlantic ocean, 
and their salutary exposition of the nature 
ft 



and principle of government, was exhibited 
to the indiscriminate view of a world of 
despots and slaves : finally, when with ; 
courage, constancy and unanimity, they * 
forced their tyrants to listen to the voice of 
reason, to relinquish their unjust claims, and 
surrender the palm of victory to the sons of 
liberty. Ah ! that the patriotic children of 
Ireland could conceive the degree in which 
their courage, in facing a host of despotic 
foes, destitute of the munitions of war, has 
penetrated the free-born sons of America 
with admiration at the gallant attempt, and 
regret at the fatal catastrophe ; that they 
could conceive the detestation with which 
all true republicans view the savage barba- 
rity of the Orange men,* those blood 

* The innumerable instances of barbarity and r&» 
pacity the Orange men and soldiery exercised, to- 
wards men, women, and children, are too shocking 
for the ear of delicacy to hear, or the eye of human- 
ity to behold ; upwards of 50,000 were butchered by 
them during the rebellion; as the/ had unlimited 
power to kiil or flagelate whom they chose, friends 
to the monarchy often were punished, as well as its 
enemies; two instances of which we will here give, 
as a specimen of the bloody-mindedness of the Orange 
men, and the perfidy of their employers. This mon- 
ster, called the whipping-sheriff of Tipperary, rot 
only murdered and flagelated his innocent country- 
men with impunity, but was rewarded for so doing, 
to* a pension from gwemiwnr.. Mr.- Wright was & 



hounds let loose by the spirit of despotism, 
on the miserable population of Ireland. 

lor a! gentleman of respectability, nearly related ta 
lord Dunboyne : 

"Mr. Wright had heard that Mr. Fitzgerald had 
received some charges of a seditious nature against 
hi», and with a promtitude not very characteristic 
of conscious guilt, he immediately went to the house 
of Mr. Fitzgerald, whom he did not find at home, 
and afterwards to that of another magistrate who 
was also out, for the purpose of surrendering himself 
for trial ; he went again the same day, accompanied 
by a gentleman, to the house of Mr. Fitzgerald, and 
being shewn into his presence, explained the purpose 
of his coming, when Mr. Fitzgerald drawing his 
sword, said, down on your knees you rebellious 
scoundrel, and receive your sentence. In vain did 
the poor man protest his innocence : in vain did he 
implore trial on his knees. Mr. Fitzgerald sentenced 
him first to be flogged, and then shot. The unfor- 
tunate man surrendered his keys to have his papers 
searched, and expressed his readiness to suffer any 
punishment the proof of guilt could justify : but no — 
this was not agreeable to Mr. Fitzgerald's principles 
of jurisdiction ; his mode was first to sentence, then 
punish, and afterwards investigate His answer to 
the unfortunate man was, *' What, you Carmelite ras- 
cal, do you dare to speak after sentence ?" and then 
struck him and ordered him to prison. 

'« Next day this unhappy man was dragged to a 
ladder in Clonmel street, to undergo his sentence. He 
knelt down in prayer with his hat before his face. 
Mr. Fitzgerald came up, dragged his hat from him 
and trampled on it, seized the man by the hair, drag- 
ged him to the earth, kicked him, and cut him across 
the forehead with his sword, and then had him strip* 



88 



Surely every candid person, who knows any 
thing of the political state of that devoted 

ped naked, tied up to the ladder, and ordered him 
fifty lashes. 

" Major Rial, an officer of the town, came up as 
the fifty lashes were completed, and asked Mr. F. 
the cause Mr. F. handed the major a note written 
in French, saying, he did not himself understand 
French., though he understood Irish, but he [major 
Ilia 1 ] would find m that letter, what would justify 
him in flogging the scoundrel to death. 

" Major Rial read the letter. He found it to be a 
note addressed for the victim, translated in these 
words : 

'I AM extremely sorry I cannot wait on 
* you at the hour appointed, being unavoidably oblig- 
«ed to attend sir Laurence Parsons. 

1 Yours, 

Baron de Clues.' 
11 Notwithstanding this translation, which major 
Rial read to Mr, Fitzgerald, he ordered fifty lashes 
more to be inflicted, and with such peculiar severity, 
that horrid to relate! the bowels of the bleeding vic- 
tim could be perceived to be convulsed and working 
through his wounds ! Mr. Fitzgerald finding he could 
not continue the application of his cat o'nine-tails on 
that part, without cutting his way into his body; or^ 
dered the waistband of his breeches to be cut open, 
and fifty more lashes to be inflicted there. He then 
left the unfortunate man bleeding and suspended, 
while he went to the barrack to demand a file of men 
to come and shoot him ; but being refused by the com- 
manding officer, he came back and sought for a rope 
to hang him, but could not get one. He then ordered 
him to be cut down, and sent back to prison, where 



89 

country, must acknowledge, that the haugh- 
ty severity of the viec-roys periodically sent 

iie was confined in a dark small room, with no other 
furniture than a wretched pallet of straw, without 
covering, and there he remained six or seven days 
without medical assistance !" 

* In the spring assizes of 1801, at Clonmell, the case 
of Doyle v. Fitzgerald produced a degree of alarm- 
ing provocation throughout that part of the country. 
The plaintive in this cause was a respectable tradesr 
man of Carrie k upon Suyr, named Francis Doyle. 
The defendant was Mr. Fitzgerald (commonly cal- 
led the flogging Sheriff) of Tipperary, against whom 
p, verdict of .500/. had before been found for a similar 
act of brutality. The action was brought for damages 
for the tort and injury done to the plaintiff in the fol- 
lowing manner. The plaintiff, who was a young man 
of excellent character and untainted loyalty, was seiz- 
ed in the street by the defendant, in order to be fla* 
gellated. In vain did he protest his innocence, which 
was also supported by some of the most respectable 
inhabitants of the place. He begged to have Cap- 
tain Jephson sent for, the commander of the j eoman- 
ry, of which be was a member ; that was refused. He 
offered to %o to instant execution if the least trace of 
guilt appeared against him on enquiry : that was also 
refused. Bail was offered to any amount for his ap- 
pearance : No, says the sheriff; 1 know by his face 
that he is a traitor — a Carmelite scoundrel. The 
plaintiff was tied to the whipping post: he received 
one hundred lashes till his ribs appeared ; he then 
had his breeches let down, and received fif;y more 
lashes on his posteriors. The young man's innocence 
was afterwards fully established. He applied to a 
court of justice for redress : the action was tried at 
Clonmell assizes : these facts fully proved : an Orange 
jury acquitted the defendant." 



90 

from England to rule the Irish nation, cow 
bined with the insolent tyranny of their owi* 
nobility, who consider their fellow subjects 
as a different species of human creatures^ 
is enough to goad the common people inte 
rebellion. While they afford indemnity to the 
rich, they add new pains and penalties on 
the poor. Let any person read Mr. Grattin's 
speech in the Irish parliament, and he will 
be enabled to form some idea of its venality, 
corruption and usurpation. 

« Mr. Grattin said, he most cheerfully 
concurred in every thing honourable to his 
majestjr, and sincerely rejoiced in every cir- 
cumstance, which could really add to his 
public and private happiness, which must 
give pleasure to every branch of his majes- 
ty's subjects, and to none more sincerely 
than to his loyal people of Ireland. They 
must ever rejoice in the auspicious increase 
of the illustrious house of Hanover, whose 
accession to the throne of these dominions 
bad been attended with so many blessings to 
that country,* as well as every other part 

* Is it possible, the enlightened and patriotic Mr. 
Grattin could believe this panegyric to be commensu- 
rate with truth, when he pub'ickly suggested it ? It is 
like a traveller who is wounded r>y a midnight robber ; 
, yet. forsooth, applauds the assassin, and throws all the 
biarne on the pistol 



91 



of the empire. So far he was ready to eon 
cur in the address. But to that part of it 
"which went to declare thanks to his majes- 
ty, for continuing in the government of this 
country a lord lieutenant, and an adminis- 
tration whose measures he had found it 
necessary to oppose, and who had uniformly 
opposed every measure urged for the good 
of their country, he could not give his as- 
sent. Ten years had elapsed since they had 
recovered their constitution, and three since, 
in the opinion of some, they had lost it. 
Their present ministers had made two at- 
tempts on their liberties ; the first had fail- 
ed, and the second had succeeded. They 
could remember the propositions ; the peo- 
ple of Ireland would not consent to be gov- 
erned by the British parliament : an expe- 
dient was devised — let the Irish parliament 
govern the people of Ireland, and Britain 
govern the Irish parliament. She was to 
do so specifically in those subjects in which 
she had been most oppressive ; monopolies 
of commerce cast and west. They were to 
put down the Irish constitution, in order to 
put up the monopoly against Irish com- 
merce. The ministry, who conducted this 
trick, took care to make the Irish advance 
by a certain number of propositions, under 
an assurance, that the British Cabinet w 



9M 

to an iota accede, and they made the Irish 
parliament give an additional revenue on the 
faith of that accession. They then suffer- 
ed the propositions to be reversed ; turned 
them against the country from which they 
were supposed to proceed, and made them 
fatal at once to their constitution, and her 
commerce, The individuals concerned in 
that business, some of them, had pledged 
themselves against an iota of alteration; 
they broke their honour. The Irish minis- 
ter was pledged to a specific system ; he pre« 
varicated ; in the attempt on her liberty he 
was a violator ; in taking her taxes a swind* 
Jer, This measure Avas defeated by the in* 
fluence principally of that part of the aris- 
tocracy, who refused to go through the bill § 
£ind who had been dismissed- They who 
made the attempt had been advanced and 
rewarded. The path of public treachery 
in a principal country leads to the block ; 
but in a nation, governed like a province, to 
the helm. 

ff The second attempt was their model- 
ling of the parliament : in 1789, fifteen new 
salaries, with several new pensions to the 
members thereof, were created at once, and 
added to the old overgrown parliamentary 
influence of the crown. In other words, the 
expenditure of the interest of half a million* 



93 

to biity the House of Commons ; the sale of 
the peerage, and the purchase of scats in 
the Commons : the formation of a stock- 
purse by the minister to monopolize bo- 
roughs, and buy up representations. This 
new practice, whereby the minister of the 
crown becomes the common borough-broker 
of the kingdom, constitutes an offence so 
multitudinous, and in all its parts so crimi- 
nal, as to call for radical reformation, and 
exemplary punishment ; whether the per- 
sons concerned be lord Buckingham or his 
secretary, or those who became the objects 
of his promotion, because they had been 
the ministers of his vices. It was a conspi- 
racy against the fundamental laws of the 
land, and sought to establish, and had esta- 
blished, in the place of a limited monarchy, 
a corrupt despotism ; and if any thing res- 
cued the persons so concerned from the name 
of traitors, it was not the principle of law, 
but its omission, that had not described by 
any express provionary statute that patri- 
cide, of which these men in intention, and in 
substance were guilty. They had adopted 
a practice, which decided the fate of their 
parliamentary constitution. In vain should 
they boast of its blessings, and of its thn e 
estates, the king, lords, and commons; when 
the king sold one estate to buy the other. 



9* 

and so contaminated both. The minister 
had sent one set of men packing into the 
peers, and another into the commons ; the 
first he called the hereditary council, the 
latter the grand council of the nation, and 
both, that once great and august institution* 
the parliament." 

Yes, even the language of an English 
lord lieutenant in Ireland, has been direct 
encouragement to the soldiery to murder the 
Irish. His measures have kindled the flames 
■of rebellion, and then he < Cried havoc! 
and let slip the dogs of war ; w unpitying and 
disregarding the direful consequences : and 
even his ministers have been in league with 
the ^Orange men, and at war with the peo- 
ple, abetting and encouraging them in their 
dreadful slaughter, while the wretched peo- 
ple could not procure a hearing, much less 
an eye to pity or a hand to help them* In- 
deed, it is my opinion, and that opinion is 
supported by the relative conduct of the 
government, that it was their wish to goad 
the people into open rebellion, that they 
might have an opportunity to confiscate the 
property of delinquents, (which they have 
done to an immense amount) and stifle the 
voices of the best men in the country, which 
loudly called for parliamentary reform, for 
honour, for liberty ; and they finally sue- 



95 

ceedcd to accomplish their deleterious pur- 
poses, viz. legal forfeitures, military pun- 
ishments, and total extermination. 

Before I conclude this department, I will 
make a few remarks on the extravagant ex- 
penditures of the British government, viz. 

Is it not astonishing, and passing strange * 
that people of intelligence from Great Bri- 
tain, on their arrival in the United States, 
will contend, that the taxes in the latter 
country are greater than in the former, and 
will advocate witli warmth the justice of 
paying elevtn hundred thousand pounds out 
of the public taxes, to a royal lunatic, to rule 
them with wisdom, and one hundred thou- 
sandth an unholy archbishop, to teach them 
to be holy ; and in the same ratio, paying 
every servant of the crown, and every pimp 
and parasite of the government immense 
sums, forced from the miserable population, 
while their unhappy country, at the same 
time, is on the brink of bankruptcy. Mr. 
Cobbett states, that their national debtis7imr 
hundred millions sterling, or 40,00,000,000 
dollars ! ! ! They have to borrow fifty 
millions sterling every year, to carry on the 
war. The interest on the public debt i* 
§160,000,000 ! ! In addition to these enor- 
mous sums, there are other items not in- 
cluded ; such as ordinance, exchequer, navy 



96 

and victualing bilk : yet these judicially in- 
fatuated people pay a family of royal blood, 
as they call it, imported from Hanover., mil- 
lions and billions of money to govern them, 
while the poorest family in England will, 
produce in one century, individuals possess- 
ing, on an average, more natural capacity, 
than this Hanoverian family has done in 
two. Surely the Almighty sends the peo- 
ple of Engand strong delusions, that they 
may believe a lie ; I mean the utility of mo- 
narchy. Or rather, a vengeance attends mo 
enormous wealth they forced from the Asi- 
atics and Africans. For it is a fundamen- 
tal law of nature, that no individual villain, 
Of government of them, shall ever find hap- 
piness or prosperity in the misery and ruin 
of others, I do really believe, that if all 
the innocent blood spilled in India and 
Africa alone, by the English and their 
agents, was collected in one mighty reser- 
voir* it would be sufficient to drown every 
British, and Irish tory in the world ! ! ! And 
will not a gracious and just God punish a 
nation guilty of such prodigious cruelty? 

In order that the reader may form some 
idea of the enormous expense the imported 
royal family of England cost the nation, let 
us for a few moments examine the expense 
of one of the family, (who are also many) 



97 

I mean the prince of Wales. He became of 
age, August 12th, 1783, During his mi- 
nority, his father received from the dutehy 
of Cornwall and the principality of Wales, 
both of which were vested in the person of 
his eldest son, 210001. sterling per annum ; 
making in twenty-one years 504,000 pounds 
sterling : which this generous king pocketed, 
although he well knew, that his son con- 
tracted debts to a large amount during this 
period. But he recommended him to the 
Budget from whence he filched many a mil- 
lion himself; great part of which he lias 
now, deposited in different banks in Eu- 
rope, while many of his wretched people 
are perishing for want. After this period 
this royal spendthrift was allowed by 
parliament, 74,0001. per annum, besides 
paying his former debts- In 1789, parlia- 
ment raised his salary to 90,0001. besides 
his patrimony : yet this large sum was not 
enough to support the extravagance of the 
royal debauchee : he applied to parliament 
to pay debts he contracted in seven years., 
and which he could not pay, 100,0001. ! Yc 
blind vindicators of despotism, and servile 
calumniators of republicanism ! contrast for 
a moment the immense expenditures of one 
prince of the house of Brunswick, (not 
worth one penny to the English nation, nor 
i 



98 

never will be) and the expenditures of this 
free nation. In one word, the private 
charge of the prince of Wales to the English 
nation, counting only from the year 1789, 
has amounted to about one-eleventh part of 
the unliquidated debt incurred by the revo- 
lutionary war, and the support of the gov- 
ernment of the United States, from its esta- 
blishment in the aforesaid year, 1789. 

I might also add, that the national expen- 
ditures in one year, on the king and princes, 
bishops, archbishops, dukes, earls, counts, 
marquises, lords, and the Lord only knows 
what, exceeds the whole charge of the gov- 
ernment of the United States from its crea- 
tion, in the sum of 974,174 dollars, and 73 
cents ! Let those who trumpet up the excel- 
lency of the British government, view this 
true statement, and be hushed to eternal 
silence ; and yet that government, with all 
its imperfections, is as good, and has more 
republican materials in its composition, than 
any other monarchy on earth. 

Although I have enlarged this depart- 
ment much more than I at first intended, I 
cannot resist the desire I feel to introduce 
a few more parliamentary speeches, deliver- 
ed by the patriots of Ireland ; first begging 
the reader's pardon for the prolixity, if it 
should so appear to him. But the patriotic, 



1)9 

eloquence so obvious in the following 
speeches, and the stubborn facts they de- 
monstrate, will no doubt be gratifying to 
every American or European reader, who 
wishes the emancipation of Ireland ; and 
will prove the " usurpations of monarchy." 
Notwithstanding the false accounts dissem- 
inated by Irish tories, relative to the state 
of their unhappy country, it is self evident, 
that the « Union* 5 of Ireland with England 
has incontestably sealed the degradation, 
and riveted the fetters of the Irish popula- 
tion. Those who think, or say, that Ireland 
does not possess patriotism, intelligence and 
eloquence, equal, if not superior to any coun- 
try of the same diameter on earth, or who 
insinuate that the *< Union" is a blessing 
a benefit to that oppressed country, let 
in read the subsequent speeches, and 
continue thus to insinuate if they can. 

"Colonel Gilbert King felt it to be the 

y he owed his constituents, his country 

and himself, to vote for the amendment and 

hist the Union whenever it should be 

forward. 

" Mr. Plunket spoke with great warmth. 
lie congratulated them on the candid avow- 
al of the rjoble lord who just sat down : he 
had exposed the project in its naked hide- 
ousness and deformity ; he had told them 



100 

that the necessity of sacrificing their inde- 
pendence, flowed from the nature of their 
connection ; it was now avowed that the 
measure did not flow from any temporary 
cause ; that it was not produced in conse- 
quence of any late rebellion, or accidental 
disturbance in the country ; that its neces- 
sity did not arise from the danger of mo- 
dern political innovations, or from recent 
attempts of wicked men to separate their 
country from Great Britain ; no, they were 
now informed by the noble lord, that the 
condition of their slavery was engrafted on 
the principles of their connection, and that 
by the decrees of fate, Ireland had been 
doomed a dependant colony from her cradle. 
After that barefaced avowal, there could 
be little difference of opinion : He trusted 
that every honest man, who regarded the 
freedom of Ireland, or who regarded the 
connection with England, would by his vote 
on that night refute the unfounded and se- 
ditious doctrine. He had borne arms to 
crush the wretches who propagated the false 
and wicked creed, « that British connection 
was hostile to Irish freedom ;" and he was 
now called on to combat it, coming from the 
lips of the noble lord at the head of admin- 
istration ? 



S WOBD TO TRAVELERS. 

Be cautious how you associate with any 
person in your travels, and first ascertain 
who and what they are. If you are flush 
of money, tell it not to your companion, for 
this imprudence has heen often the parent 
of assassination on the high way. Mark well 
the countenance of any person who attempts 
to accompany you on the road. If he is a 
knave, or painted hypocrite, by attending to 
the subsequent physiognomical remarks, you 
may see through his disguise, slum his com- 
pany, and avoid being taken up with him, as 
a highway robber. Avoid t\\Q loquacious 
■man ; turn away from the smile of self-suf- 
ficiency; the strut of self-confidence, behold 
with pity and contempt ; but the humble en- 
quirer after truth, inform ; the unfortunate 
comfort, and the child of affliction take 
kindly by the hand and declare to him with 
the energetic look of assurance, thai God 
afflicts him to day only to reward lam to- 
morrow. Be sure not to depend either 
upon hostlers or tavcrnkeepers to attend to 
your horse, for I have proved the imposi- 
tion of some of them in this instance*; stand 
by and see your horse rubbed down,. water- 
ed and led. Remember the scriptural adage, 
i{ $ mcrqiiul man, is merciful to kisi beas,t>* 



438 

£ WORD TO TOUNG M1W ON CO-PARTN£Br 
SHIP, 

I would advise prudent young men, pre r 
vions to entering into the bonds of co-part- 
nership, as well as the bonds of holy matri- 
mony, at least to peruse Lavater's arguments 
in favour of the science of physiognomy, and 
then condemn it if they can. By this 
means they will not only save many thou- 
sands of dollars, but also be cured of their 
ill founded prejudices. A man should have 
as much confidence in his partner, as he 
lias in his wife or even himself. Could I 
exhibit the numbers of young men who 
have been legally swindled out of their 
patrimonial fortunes, by premature and 
precipitate co-partnership, and have been 
thereby reduced to poverty, every candid 
reader would acknowledge the necessity 
and utility of this friendly precaution. 

There is one very necessary caution I 
forgot to suggest in its proper place, to in- 
nocent unsuspecting modest young meti, 
while choosing matrimonial partners, and 
that is ; to avoid female tyranny, although, 
tinder the cloak of religion. Such young men 
are more easily cheated this way than any 
other. Ma^y a wantox eye, authori- 
tative NOSE, DICTOBIAL BROW, AC- 



139 

COMPARED WITH A 9ANC1>M0NI0U£ 

sJouth, are to be seen under a plaiS 

BONNET. 

Before I introduce Lavater's physiogno- 
mical remarks on certain individual parts 
of the human body, I would beg leave to 
transcribe Buffon's remarks on National 
Physiognomy, which will at least be both 
instructive, and entertaining to readers, who 
are anti-physiognomists. 

« Traversing the surface of the earth, 
and beginning in the north, we find, in 
Lapland, and on the northern coast of Tar- 
tary, a race of men small of stature, sin* 
gular of form, and with countenances savage 
as their manners. 

These people have large flat faces, the 
nose broad, the pupil of the eye of a yel- 
low brown inclining to a black, the eye- 
lids .retiring towards the temples, the 
cheeks extremely high, the mouth very 
large, the lower part of the face narrow, 
the lips full and high, the voice shrill, the 
head large, the hair black and sleek, and 
the complexion brown or tanned. They 
are very small, and squat, though meagre. 
Most of them are not above four feet, and 
hardly any exceed four feet and a half. 
The Borandians are still smaller than the 
Laplanders* The Bamoiedes more s<juat ? 



14« 

With large heads and noses, and darkel 
complexions. Their legs are shorter, their 
knees more turned outwards ; their hair ij3 
longer, and they have less beard. The 
complexion of the Greenla,nders is darker 
still, and of a deep oliye colour. 

The women, among all these nations, are 
as ugly as the men; and not only do these 
people resemble each other in ugliness, size, 
and the colour of their eyes and hair, but 
they have similar inclinations and manners, 
and are all equally gross, superstitious, and 
stupid, Most of them are idolaters ; they 
are more rude than savage, wanting cou- 
rage, self respect, and inodesty. 

If we examine the neighbouring people 
of the long sjip of land which the Laplan- 
ders inhabit, we shall find they have no 
.relation whatever with that race, excepting 
that of the Qstiaeks and Tongusians.- The 
Samoiedes and the IJorandiaus haying no 
Resemblance with the Russians, nor have 
the Laplanders with the Fiukimlcrs, the 
Goths, Danes, or Norwegians. The Green- 
landers are alike-different from the sava- 
ges of Canada. The latter are tall ami well 
made ; and though they differ very much 
from each other, yet they are still more in- 
finitely different from the Laplanders. The 
<Qstiacks seem to be Samoiede^ something; 



105 

blood ; and when be felt the hour of his dis- 
solution approaching, he would, like the fa- 
ther of Hannibal, take his children to the 
altar, and swear them to eternal hostility 
against the invaders of their country's free- 
dom*" 

« Colonel ODonnel (in a maiden speech) 
observed, had he not been determined to 
oppose so infamous a measure, previous o 
his coming down to that house, the able 
and spirited arguments used that night by 
the opposers of a Legislative Union, would 
make him anxious to have his name enrol- 
led with such a glorious hand of patriots. 
On one side he saw opposing the measure, 
the landed interest, the talents, and the in- 
tegrity of the nation : on the other side, he 
beheld it supported by placemen and pen- 
sioners ; few only indeed excepted. Should 
the legislative independence of Ireland be 
voted away by a parliament, which was not- 
competent thereto, he should hold himself 
discharged from his allegiance ; the consti- 
tution would be violated, and he would 
join the people in preserving their rights : 
lie would oppose the rebels in rich clothes 
with as much energy, as he ever had the 
rebels in rags." 

" Mr. French observed that, scarcely al- 
lowed time to breathe after having suppress- 



11)6 

cd a cruel and unnatural rebellion, they 
were called upon to decide on a question of 
unparalleled magnitude ; and any decision 
on that great point would be in his mind 
premature, till the wishes of the great body 
of the people were fully and sufficiently 
known; without their consent either ex- 
pressed or implied by their acquiescence, 
the legislature ought not* they had no right 
to make a radical change in the constitution. 
The people had not yet had time to make 
their sentiments known ; some few counties 
had indeed instructed their representatives ; 
the northern counties were silent ; the south 
and west were silent. The Presbyterians 
in the north, and the Roman Catholics in 
the south and west, a numerous and re- 
spectable part- of the community, had not 
yet declared their sentiments j they seemed 
to hold back with a respectful deference, till 
they should understand the subject better;" 
"Mr. Gratiin said, that the right ho- 
nourable gentleman proposed a counter- 
revolution, as if he were to bring in a bill to 
depose the House of Hanover and re-esta- 
blish that of Stuart: he proposed to restore 
the domination of the British parliament, 
which abdicated Ireland, and to depose the 
Irish parliament that had saved her ; 
grounding the proposition on the opportu- 



10? 

ftity, tlic weakness, the divisions, and the 
martial law of the country ; but concealing 
those grounds, because a disclosure of them 
would display the real character and perfidy 
of the measure, and professing to introduce 
it on another ground, namely, the wishes of 
t lie country, as mis-stated and mis-repre- 
sented by the servants of the crown. In 
this proposition j the minister had gigantic 
difficulties to encounter. It w as incumbent 
upon Iii in to explain away the tyrannical 
acts of a century ; to apologize for the law- 
less and oppressive proceedings of England* 
for a system which had counter-acted the 
kindness of Providence towards Ireland, 
and had kept her in a state of thraldom and 
misery ; to prove that the British parliament 
had undergone a great change of disposi- 
tion ; to disprove two consequences, which 
were portended by the odium of the Union 
and the increased expenses of the empire, 
namely, a military government for a consi- 
derable time, and, at no very distant period* 
an augmentation of taxes : to deny or dis- 
pute the growth of the prosperity of Ireland, 
under the maternal wing of her own parlia- 
ment; to controvert the sufficiency of that 
legislature for imperial purposes or com- 
mercial objects, though facts were against 
him ; and to explode or recal his repealed 



10& 

declarations in its favour. In short, he had 
to prove many points, which he could by no 
means demonstrate ; and to disprove many, 
which might be forcibly maintained against 
him. It was, moreover, singular to behold 
the man, who denied the right of France to 
alter her government, maintaining the omni- 
potence of the parliament of Ireland to annul 
her constitution. 

" He then urged the very serious import- 
ance of the question. It was not such as 
had formerly occupied their attention: not 
old Poynings, not peculation, not an embar- 
go, not a Catholic bill, not a reform bill — 
it was their being — it was more, it was their 
life to came — whether they would go to the 
tomb of C baric mont and the volunteers, and 
erase bis epitaph, or whether their children 
should go to their graves, saying, « A venal, 
a military court attacked the liberties of the 
Irish, and here lie the bones of the honour- 
able men, who saved their country. 3 Such 
an epitaph was a nobility which the king 
Could not give to his slaves; it was a glory 
which the crown could not give to the 
king?* 



DEPARTMENT II. 



vwvwwww 



Brief remarks om the importance of the science ©£ 
physiognomy ; with appropriate extracts from the works 
of the celebrated Lavater. Particularly intended as a 
guard to young people, while choosing matrimonial or 
mercantile partners, and travelling companions. 



DEDICATION. 

To the young people of the United States of both sexei, 
this department is most respectfully inscribed / with the 
most earnest desire that it may be rendered particularly use- 
ful to them : by their bumble servant , 

THE AUTHOR. 

Most people will at first glance, condemn 
these remarks on physiognomy, and boldly 
assert, that " it never can be a science." 
For my part, I have no more doubt of the 
reality of the science of physiognomy, than 
I have of my existence. We will briefly 
suggest a few thoughts, in support of this 
belief. And first, I would ask the intelli- 
gent reader who disbelieves physiognomy, 
whether, or not, certain faces at first sight, 
does not, strike him with admiration, or dis- 
gust ; confidence or suspicion ? Does not 
even the rustic, who does not know the ety- 
mology of the word Physiognomy, exclaim? 



110 

at the first glance of a thief, « that man has 
a roguish look? Does not the misanthro- 
pist, the philanthropist and the religionist, 
(although they pretend to disbelieve the 
science) judge according to their feelings 
concerning physiognomy ? most assuredly 
they do. Nature, in spite of their prejudice 
and ignorance, impresses physiognomical 
sensations on the mind of every child of 
man, for the most benevolent purposes, to 
wit; that they may know a friend, and avoid 
an enemy. Yea, even the brute creation, 
and the feathered tribe, are endowed with 
physiognomical sagacity. What else is it, 
that causes the innocent dove, to fly preci- 
pitate at the approach of a hawk, and seek 
refuge in the recesses of some cavern, while 
its little heart beats against the rock on 
which it is sitting ? What else causes the 
rat, to shun the presence of the cat; and 
makes the generality of quadrupeds 1*1111 at 
the night of a lion ? Even the insect knows 
its friend, and shuns its foe ; and the infant 
smiles to see one face, and cries to see 
another. \Yhy does the hypocrite assume 
a sanctimonious countenance ;, but to coun- 
teract the physiognomical sensations, which 
nature has bountifully implanted in the 
mind* of man, in order that he may avoid 
imposition ? Then since man is endowed 



Hi 

with this advantageous capacity^ lor thfc 
most valuable purposes, why should lie so 
far oppose his own interest and happiness, 
as to condemn \vithout investigation, a 
science calculated to enable him to avoid 
the most deadly evils, losses, and priva- 
tions ? Surely, as heaven has blessed man, 
both with the power and opportunity to 
obtain the most valuable wisdom, it is his 
indispensable duty to embrace the sacred 
boon, and be thankful to our divine bene- 
factor for the same. If indeed « the pro- 
per study of mankind is man," and if man 
is asocial being, and mutual intercourse 
a necessary consequence of his nature, then 
most assuredly some knowledge of the 
science of physiognomy is necessary, that 
}ie may avoid not only imposition but des- 
truction. To point out the many advan- 
tages of this science, would require a folio 
volume, when even the portion of physiog- 
nomical sensation, with which every mail 
is born, enable them (though in opposition 
to their prejudices rnd prepossessions) to 
•shun the most deleterious associations. The 
use of this science is therefore to eo-operale 
Avith nature in teaching men with more 
certainty, at tirst sight, how to choose a 
friend and shun a foe, before premature 
and precipitate connexions arc formed, 



US 

which often end In total ruim Ig it pos^ 
gible that any man can form so contempti- 
ble an opinion of the God of nature, as to 
suppose that he has given him the most as- 
tonishing penetration ; by which he becomes 
a proficient in sciences the most profound, 
and arts the most difficult j by which he can 
trace out the paths and measure the diame- 
ters of the comets 9 and ascertain the annua! 
and diurnal motion of the earth, as well as 
the periodical revolutions of the planets ; 
hj which he can, with a good telescope* 
view even the satellites of Saturn, and cal- 
culate, with the utmost accuracy, the 
eclipses of our sun and moon through re- 
volving ages : I say, does our gracious Crea- 
tor thus endow man with such intellectual 
faculties, as thus to read the book of crea- 
tion with facility, and at the same time 
deny him the power of reading the open 
book of the human countenance, and there- 
by to distinguish between his friend and 
foe? For my own part, I do not pretend 
to be even the fragment of a physiogno* 
mist, although I believe that the science 
may be brought to as great perfection by 
the ingenious as any other science, mathe- 
matics excepted. I have made remarks on 
the human countenance which have proved 
correct ; but I have been many times mig«» 



113 

taken in my judgment.* I will therefore, 
in the room of my own remarks, substitute 
the judicious remarks of my master, the 
greatest physiognomist that ever lived, I 
mean the celebrated J. C. Lavater, after 
1 have suggested a few miscellaneous 
thoughts by way of illustration. 

And first, I would address a word to 
thee, youthful reader ! which will be like 
a beacon to guard thee from the rocks on 
which millions of the giddy, the volatile, 
and the gay have been shipwrecked, 
would particularly advise you to gain a com- 
petent knowledge of the science of physi- 
ognomy, in order that you may be enabled 
at the first glance, to avoid many enemies 
in your journey through life, but particu- 
larly three, to wit ; a dangerous travelling 
companion, a dishonest mercantile partner, 
and, above all, a scolding and incontinent 
matrimonial help meet. By neglecting this 
precaution, many, both young and old, have 
been robbed and sometimes murdered on 
the high-way ; others have been swindled 

* Had I fifteen years ago possessed the same phy. 
siognomical knowledge which I now possess, as di 
minutive and imperfect as it certainly is, I would hava 
sayed myself from many an aching heart, from shedding 
many a silent and sorrowful tear, and from losing n 
indrtd dollars, 



1*4 

out of their all, by villians professing friend- 
ship and gaining the confidence of young 
unsuspecting men, and riggling themselves 
into co-partnership with them ; whereas, had 
they paid the least attention to their physi- 
ognomy, they might have avoided being 
legally robbed with their eyes open. But 
the greatest evil under the sun, is a prema- 
ture, precipitate, and injudicious marriage. 
My dear youth, could I point out the 
thousands, both male and female, who 
have been brought to present and eternal 
i*uin by making a bad matrimonial choice, 
you would weep and tremble by turns; 
shun therefore female affectation, irritability 
and incontinence, as you would a rattle- 
snake, at the first glance. These remarks 
are only adapted to modest, unassuming, 
virtuous young men, who too generally 
fall victims to female cupidity, and artifi- 
cial blandishments. The rake reformed, 
or unreformed, does not need these admo- 
nitions. A reformed rake once informed 
me that he used to make his boast of vio- 
lating fifty young women in a town where 
he lived, and but two of them had the 
least immodest appearance, but passed for 
pure virgins. I did not doubt the asser- 
tion, because the person was, at the time 
he made it, a religious character, and 



115 

preached the gospel. In this manner liber- 
tines corrupt virgin innocence, who, in 
their turns, impose upon the unsuspecting 
integrity of innocent young men. Reject 
therefore, the most beautiful countenance, 
if affectation, irritability, or wantonness, is 
written thereon. Let mediocrity of perso- 
nal charms and purity of mind, be the ob- 
jects of your choice. Depend not upon 
your physiognomical knowledge in your 
choice of a wife ; but be cool, be calcula- 
ting, be slow ; make every inquiry into the 
character, and particularly the temper of 
your intended. For it would be better for 
you that you never had been born, than 
to be united to a vixen, alias a scolding 
wife. Where is the sweetness of honey 
when he who tastes it is stung by a thou- 
sand bees? Where is the beauty of the rose 
when surrounded with thorns ? Where is 
the utility of a palace, when it is rendered 
a prison ? Where is the use of riches, when 
they only chain us in golden chains? What 
value is a home, when it is a hell upon 
earth ? Where is the excellence of a beau- 
tiful woman, if she is a tyrant ? dear 
innocent youth, easy to be won, throw not 
thyself into the arms of a female compan- 
ion, too hastily and untried. Beauty, com- 
bined with artificial modesty, may easily 



116 

deceive thee to thy ruin. Take council of 
«\ge and experience, before you enter into 
the bonds of matrimony. If a girl who 
is not worthy to become your second self, 
has not yet appeared, be patient, you 
shall find her at the proper hour j better 
patiently wait a few years, and get a beau- 
tiful girl with an angelic mind, than to be 
precipitate in your choice, and unite your 
destiny with a woman, with a handsome 
form without, but a devil within. To be 
united to the first is heaven, to the last is 
hell. A beautiful, modest, intelligent, do- 
cile woman, is the noblest work of God, 
and the greatest earthly treasure he can be- 
stow on man. I would paint the excellency 
of such a character, in order to stimulate 
my young reader to choose such, and none 
but such, for a conjugal partner. Be- 
ing found she will attract thee to herself 
The brilliancy of her eyes will charm thee, 
the music of her voice will temper thy im- 
petuosity, but above all, her intelligent and 
comprehensive mind, stored with the vari- 
eties of polite literature, will be a source 
of amusement, and a fund of pleasurable 
information* Permit me to recapitulate the 
h k nt ; her personal charms will delight 
her intellectual beauties will benefit 
-id her unadultercd loye^ will sooih 



147 

thy sorrows and counterpoise the inciden- 
tal misfortunes of life. I will dwell a lit- 
tle longer on this interesting subject, for 
interesting it most assuredly is, although 
millions of men will not believe it so. 
What else is the cause of so many miserable 
matches between the sexes. Is not this 
credulity, the fundamental cause of so many 
amiable women being united to brutes of 
men ; and mild, sentimental, innocent virtu- 
ous men, being joined to tyrannical women, 
whose countenances, (though beautiful) at 
first glance, declare, even to the imperfect 
physiognomist, thattheir hearts are impreg- 
nated with choler, irritability, caprice and 
petulance, affected, unimpassioned, stony, 
insipid ? An intelligent man can have no 
more social intercourse with such a wo- 
man, (and too many such there are) than 
he can with his dog, and as for corporal 
gratification, he soon will be disgusted 
with that. Can a man embrace a serpent 
that is continually stinging him to the heart, 
can he enjoy the embrace of a beautiful wo- 
man, when her tongue is kindled with the 
fire of hell, and when those impetuous 
and boisterous passions have destroyed the 
last germ of his domestic tranquillity, and 
earthly happiness ? Ah ! my dear young, in- 
experienced, unsuspecting reader, it is ut r 



*18 

terly impossible for mc to delineate tte 
thousancltli part of the miseries in time and 
eternity, resulting from premature and pre- 
cipitate marriages ; could I exhibit to your 
intellectual view, the thousands who have 
inconsiderately precipitated themselves into 
the bottomless gulph of domestic misery, 
which has been so intolerable, as to cause 
them to commit suicide in order to escape 
therefrom, and in addition to this tragical 
view, could I exhibit the tens of thou- 
sands, male and female, who have mur- 
dered their companions in order to get 
shut of them, you would acknowledge that 
the ardent, the tenfold solicitude I mani- 
fest, in warning you of this fatal rock, on 
which millions such as you, have been ship- 
wrecked, is neither ill-timed, impertinent, 
much less unnecessary. I have guarded 
the innocent female, or endeavoured to 
guard her against the attacks of libertines, 
in a book* of 324 pages. And I have a 
long time desired an opportunity, also, to 
guard the innocent, modest, unsuspecting 
yotmg men, against the attacks of beauty in 
disgrace, as well as external beauty com- 
bincd with eternal tyranny; and indeed, 
these simple desultory untranscribed stric- 

*Tbe Exe^ncy of the Female Character Vindicated. 



119 

lures on physiognomy, are the offspring of 
that desire. Those monsters in human 
form, those pests of society, those auxilia- 
ries of hell, the seducers and traducers of 
female innocence, and unsuspecting beauty, 
arc the primary cause of the mountains of 
domestic misery, too observable in the 
world. They ruin female virtue, corrupt, 
by their infernal arts, the innocent and 
modest young woman, and metamorphose 
her to a she fiend ; who in her turn, cor- 
rupts modest unsuspecting young men, or 
ensnares them to their ruin. Should you, 
alas ! fall into her snares, you will find to 
your sorrow that the half of the misery you 
will endure has not been told you. 

To tell your sorrow, or your grief to paint, 
The muse's highest notes appear too faint. 

Therefore behold the dreadful gulph be- 
fore you and beware ; appropriate then, I 
beseech you, a few of your leisure mo- 
ments to the study of physiognomy : it will 
be both a pleasurable and profitable em- 
ployment. By this means you will be en- 
abled to shun female policy, the beautiful 
virago, and beauty in disgrace, (alias beau- 
ty unchaste) at first glance, because often 
an after remedy comes too late. What I 
have said to young and modest females hi re- 



ISO 

fcrenee to libertines, I now say to modest 
young men, relative to wanton, as well as 
tyrannical female beauties; " give them 
not your company in private, nay, not for 
one minute, 55 for most imdubitably they 
will enchant, they will bewitch, they will 
ensnare you, even before you apprehend 
yourself to be in danger ; with the same 
facility, adepts at seduction ensnare the 
heedless silly virgin. O that this friendly 
caution may stop some young man from 
plunging himself into domestic misery, 
matrimonial war, and worse than Algerine 
slavery ; as for libertines, there is no danger 
of their being cheated by beauty in disgrace, 
although they may be by beauty combined 
with tyranny. To elucidate this assertion, 
I will mention the reformed rake, of whom 
I have already spoken. After deceiving 
so many innocent females by his hellish 
arts, and particularly by the promise of mar- 
riage, he at last found an amiable woman, 
who repulsed him with scorn ; he admired 
her magnanimous virtue more than her 
personal or intellectual charms, and mar- 
ried her, she proved an excellent wife ; 
about three years ago, she departed 
this life, and in nine months after, he 
married another young woman. The first 
time I Deheid her, I at once read in 



121 

her countenance, beauty, mildness, docility, 
and intelligence; when, with amazement, I 
intellectually exclaimed, "and is it possi- 
ble, that this man has got again, so amia- 
ble a partner, who has done so much injury 
to the sex, while many thousands of inno- 
cent, virtuous, worthy men, are doomed to 
linger out life in perfect domestic misery, on 
the sole account of the base and boisterous 
passions of their tyrannical wives !" What 
more can I say, young man, to guard 
you against domestic misery, which is in 
miniature, what a civil war is in magnitude* 
In order to exhibit its deformity, shall I 
again contrast it with conjugal felicity, 
which is the greatest blessing man on earth 
can know. that 1 could inspire you with 
a laudable ambition, not only to shun this 
misery, but to enjoy this felicity. Some 
men marry for money, hence richly merit 
their misery, and they find to their cost, 
that the leprosy of the Assyrian general 
Naman, is inseparably connected with his 
wedges of gold. And poor comfort is it 
for such wretches to be imprisoned in a 
palace, and perched up in a golden sor- 



x 



The most aljandoned libertines are thej 

Who to the love of money fall a prey, 

And nought avails the " husband's" specious name* 

A man so married is the sex's shame. 

In preference to a beautiful vixen, an af- 
fected ignoramus, or a charming wanton, 
with a jewel hung on every hair on her 
head, and seated on a throne of gold in a 
palace of ivory, give me female beauty 
combined with modesty, docility and in- 
telligence, in a homespun dress of linsey 
and woolsey, and seated at her spinning 
wheel in a rural cottage, by the side of 
some green hill ; for this is the abode of 
vernal tranquillity and domestic happiness. 
Such a woman is calculated to sweeten the 
unavoidable bitter of lifej her soft delicate 
hand will raise you from the pit of despon- 
dency, the affectionate look of a noble, in- 
telligent, beautiful woman, can ealm the sor- 
rows of your heart, her eloquent conversa- 
tion can wile away the tedious hours of life, 
and make even the melancholy moments 
smile. While the social, the sympathetic, 
the heavenly tear of pity steals from 
her own eye, more precious than the 
brightest gem of Golconda, she will kiss the 
tear of regret from yours ; she will support 
you under the most corroding cares ; in her 
faithful bosom vou will find, a vent for the 



123 

sorrows of jour bursting heart. When the 
foul mouth of calumny has belched out its 
venom on your good name, abroad in the 
world ; when your well-meant endeavour's 
for the public weal is ridiculed and hissed 
at ; go home ! go home ! to your bosom 
friend, your pious partner ; she will pour the 
ioil of comfort into your wounded mind, 
and hush your heart rending sighs, by one 
single sentiment, viz, f« if the sons of slan- 
der called our precious Saviour Belzebub, 
shall we repine. See the voice of slander 
does not even stick to the skirts of your 
coat, words are wind, therefore mind them 
not. Seek refuge in the bosom of God, 
and submit your cause to him, who, when 
all shall forsake you, or you forsake all, 
will prove a friend that will stick closer 
than a brother.' 5 Seek then, oh ! juvenile 
reader, such a companion as this, a spot- 
less virgin, all innocence, all intelli- 
gence, all love, all worthy. In her black, 
her brilliant, her smiling eyes may be read 
the candour and generosity of her heart, 
her large arched forehead, plainly denotes 
a capacious mind, her compressed eyebrows 
bespeak her understanding, her gentle out- 
lined nose shews refined taste, her placid 
and pleasing lips point out the complacency 
and docility of her nature. But why do I 



124 

attempt to describe so much goodness, grace 
and intelligence, it may be conceived, but 
can never be expressed, even by a Lavater. 
Such" a woman is not only calculated to be a 
source of consolation, admiration and infor- 
mation to a virtuous man, because in her 
comprehensive mind, he finds a balm for 
his intellectual wounds, and a cordial for 
his fear; but her noble beautiful counte- 
nance beaming with dignity and grace, in- 
spires not only love, but reverence, not 
only admiration, but also veneration. She 
looks down lust and inspires a nobler rup- 
ture, which is in minority, what that is 
in maturity, with which the first horn sons 
of heaven embrace. I have pointed out 
the outlines of the character of a woman 
calculated to make you happy, in order 
to stimulate you to seek, to find, to enjoy her. 
Seek her for she may be found. But O 
beware of those who affect every look of 
modesty and docility, though destitute of 
both. Turn, turn with disgust from the 
beauties most admired in this degenerate 
age ; " turn from the wretched pride of their 
silence, their measured affectation of speech, 
the haughtiness of their eyes, arrogantly 
overlooking misery and poverty, their au- 
thoritative nose, their languid unmeaning 
tips, relaxed by contempt, bitten by 



1%B 

artifice and malice ; from the stiffness and 
haughtiness of their walk j from their bold 
assuming look, from their wanton glances, 
and more wanton dress: finally, turn with 
contempt from their contemptible vanity, 
barefaced flattery and unmeaning politeness. 
If you suffer yourself to be ensnared and 
degraded by such a continuance, after read- 
ing these friendly admonitions, which has 
no other end in view but your happiness, 
surely you deserve to suffer; every intelli- 
gent person must pity and despise your 
wretched choice. Let no person say or in- 
sinuate tli at I depreciate the female cha- 
racter; nothing can be more false. I have 
passed the highest possible encomium upon 
it by asserting, that 6 - a virtuous, intelligent, 
beautiful woman, is the noblest work of 
God:" but a vixen, however beautiful, J 
contend is an abortion. 

THE EXCELLENCY OF WOMAN. 

M Who in this world of care and strife 

Doth kindly cheer and sweeten life, 

As friend, companion, and as wife ? 

'Tis Wcmafl. 
1 

Who, by a thousand tender wiles, 
By fond endearments and by smiles, 
Our bosom of Us grief beguiles ? 

Tis Wo^an. 



126 

From whence do all our pleasures flow ; 
Who draws the Scorpion sting of woe, 
And makes the heart with transport glow ? 

'Tis Woman! 

Who of a nature more refm'd 

Doth soften man's rude stubborn mind, 

And make him gentle, mild, and kind ? 

'Tis Woman ! 

When hours of absence past, we meet, 
Say, who enraptur'd, runs to greet 
Our glad return, with kisses sweet ? 

'Tis Woman! 

Who, in a word, a touch, a sigh, 
The simple glancing of her eye, 
Can fill the soul with ecstacy I 

'Tis Woman ? 

Eden she lost ensnar'd to vice ; 
But well has she repaid its price, 
For earth is made a paradise 

By Woman !*» 

Language is not sufficiently sonorous to 
describe the excellency of a beautiful wo- 
man, uneontaminated by libertinism, af- 
fectation, vanity, and much less the base 
and boisterous passions ; nay, if all the 
languages in the world were to lend me 
words, yet could I not point out the mi- 
raculous nature, superb symmetry and in- 
tellectual illumination of such a woman. In 
her, the study, the genius, the most beairti- 



127 

ful architecture of the sovereign beauty is 
exhibited in miniature. And if it be impos- 
sible to delineate her personal charms, how 
is it possible to display the charms of her 
capacious and comprehensive mind, which 
is the repository of all the social and sen- 
timental virtues; of benevolence, commis- 
seration, humility, sanctity, b it above all 
the supreme and Stiver-eminent love of 
God ? Yes, her pure, her pious, her fervent 
affectionate heart, is a temple where he 
delights to dwell. I recollect, when a 
youth, of sailing in shallow but most trans- 
lucent water, the bottom of which was in- 
tersected with beds of coral, whose bril- 
liancy, though beneath, I could see glitter- 
ing through the pellucid waves ; even so it 
is with that beautiful and brilliant jewel, 
the heart of such a female. The fair flow- 
er of the soul, planted in such a beauteous 
body, displays by a noble benevolent coun- 
tenance its intrinsic value, its purity, its de- 
votion, like the morning sun darting his 
horizontal beams through checquered 
clouds, all fringed with gold. If we look 
through these beautiful dappled clouds, 
we recognize the more brilliant sun. Thus 
the ingenious physiognomist through a beau- 
tiful countenance, can discern the more 
Tjeautiful qualities of a noble soul, which 



may be called an angel in embryo. An 
illustrious soul shining through a benevo- 
lent and charming countenance, is to the 
pious physiognomist the sure and certain 
presage of celestial glory and supreme be- 
atitude. This is by no means a theatrical 
exhibition ; there are such personal charms, 
such intellectual jewels to be found. I 
would observe to the anti-physiognomist, 
that these remarks are more philanthropic, 
than physiognomical. They are simply 
meant to stimulate my youthful reader, even 
though he should be my greatest enemy, to 
avoid (of all misery in this miserable world, 
the greatest) domestic misery, by making a 
judicious matrimonial choice. Yes, even 
my greatest enemy, I can truly say, J 
would take peculiar delight in snatching 
from misery so fatal, so perpetual, so pro- 
found. And I do solemnly declare, that I 
do not know any means more calculated to 
guard a modest, innocent, unsuspecting 
youth, from matrimonial misery $ (for they 
only are most exposed to the arts of female 
policy, and beauty. contaminated by liber- 
tinism) than a competent knowledge of the 
science of physiognomy. I do not pretend 
to be a practitioner, much less a proficient 
in this science : yet, with the simple physi- 
ognomical ^sensations, with wjiich nature, 



129 

has impressed my mind, I could venture* 
my all on my opinion, of certain counte- 
nances. Although I despise gasconading, 
yet I will mention an incident which will 
illustrate the antecedent assertion. Walk- 
ing one day in the street, I inadvertently 
was struck with a most beautiful female 
eountenanec. By one superficial glance I 
took, as I passed by, I recognised the most 
prominent traits of boisterous irritability. 
Her dictorial eyebrows, authoritative nose, 
arrogant and piercing eyes, the affectation 
[>f her measured steps, all conspired at 
once to convince me she was a beautiful 
tyrant ; which caused me mentally to ex- 
claim, as I passed along, "pity the man 
that is ever united to you. 55 Some time 
after this, I happened to see this very wo- 
man in a rage with her neighbour, mani- 
festing all the boisterous irritability I had 
previously recognised in her countenance 
while in a composed frame. I was like- 
wise informed that she had been married 
to a very amiable young man of property 
and genteel connexions, but that her vio* 
lent temper and ab useful tongue, drove 
him from home to seek refuge in a ta- 
vern, where he drank strong liquor to 
drown his grief, and thus became a drunk- 
ard. 



130 

When his miserable wife, the cause of 
his misery, left him in the gulf of ruin, 
which was actually the case at this time. 
I might mention other physiognomical an- 
ecdotes, to illustrate our argumentation, 
but no anecdote, however pointed, can ex- 
press, no imagination can conceive, the 
dreadful fatality of injudicious matrimonial 
alliances. The discord and confusion of the 
damned, are in their habitations, which are 
erected on the suburbs of hell, if I may be 
allowed to use the hyperbole. Mark the 
contrast between such a habitation and the 
abode of connubial affection, and domestic 
tranquillity, and may it, dear young reader, 
be deeply impressed on your mind. Ap- 
proach the happy, the tranquil family, that 
you may first prize, then diligently seek, 
lastly find the same happiness. See the 
sweet little cherubs, the pledge of conjugal 
love, climbing their father's knees, to share 
the envied kiss ; here you will hear the voice 
of the soul proceeding from the lips of the 
body. Falsehood, affectation, distortion, va- 
nity, are not to be found here. Truth, can- 
dour, beauty, innocence, and devotion, are 
observable at the first glance. Their asso- 
ciates are few, but faithful ; their happiness 
consists in promoting each other's happi- 



131 

wess, arid alleviating the miseries of man- 
kind, as far as their influence extends* 
He must, indeed, be void of every noble 
feeling, who can enter this family and not 
feel emotions of affection and veneration ; 
yes, he must be possessed with an evil 
spirit, who is not delighted on entering 
the habitation which is entered by the an- 
gels of heaven with delight. 

A WORD TO YOUNG WOMEN* 

Although I have already said all that I 
could say in my " Female Character vindi- 
cated" in order to defend the innocent un- 
suspecting virgin from the too successful 
innovations of libertinism, yet I cannot let 
the present opportunity slip, without ad- 
dressing a few words to them once more. 
Fly therefore the company of a rake, as you 
would the approach of a poisonous reptile. 
Any young woman who gives her company 
in private to such a character, if she pre- 
serves her chastity un violated, which I 
think almost impossible, she undoubted- 
ly sacrifices her reputation. " Never fear" 
has been the forerunner of the disgrace 
and infamy of many a respectable man's 
daughter. Girls who are too self-confident 
in their own strength, are always most 



133 

I 

easily seduced. Their only safety con- 
sists in precaution. A prudent girl should 
not admit any suitor till she carefully ex- 
amines his character, hahits and natural 
disposition. An artful libertine, when he 
casts his vuture's eyes upon a beautiful, 
amiable, virtuous young woman, that at- 
tracts his amorous solicitude, he immedi- 
ately assumes the demeanour of a prudent 
and modest man,- as he well knows if he 
appears in his real character, he will be 
rejected with scorn : he of course, pays his 
addresses to his intended victim, proposes 
marriage, professes much attachment, and 
vows eternal constancy and love. He ea- 
sily gains the affections of the innocent 
unsuspecting girl,- she loves him to dis- 
traction. Then, and not till then, will he 
attack her virtuous intentions ,- still keep- 
ing his real character out of view. As he 
has gained her confidence, he retains it till 
he has destroyed her peace or virtue. She 
thinks it impossible so much apparent 
goodness and tenderness can be affected ; 
he raises obstacles and objections to the 
matrimonial alliance, at least for the pre- 
sent ,- but swears by the bible and by all that 
is sacred, that he will prove faithful to the 
hour of his death ; and that they are in re- 
ality married in the sight of heaven j arid 



13& 

that when circumstances will admit, it shall 
be consummated by a minister. Under 
such temptations is it any wonder that 
thousands of innocent and unsuspecting 
females, are sunk in the sink of prematura 
prostitution ? 

If any of my readers are acquainted 
with parents who have silly and self-confi- 
dent daughters, or young women who 
have sly or insinuating suitors, I would 
humbly and most earnestly beseech them 
to present my " Female Characted vindica- 
ted" to them for their serious investiga- 
tion, and particularly I would wish to in- 
culcate on the minds of my fair readers, 
one truly important lesson ; which is, to 
view with horror, and repulse w T ith mag- 
nanimity and scorn, the man who makes 
the smallest attack on your virtue. Let it 
shock you with the quickness of electricity, 
and let the repulse be instantaneous, and 
the battle is won. But alas ! how many 
thousands of unsuspecting, unconscious, ami 
virtuous females, have been ruined by neg~ 
lecting this precaution. The lover or sui- 
tor, first appeal's with diffidence and con- 
scious shame, to assault the delicacy of 
the silly fair one. She repulses him in- 
deed with gentle reproof, but not with 
suitable indignation and horror of heart, 



134 

and her pusillanimity only tends to render 
still more 'invincible the guilty inten- 
tions of the amorous lover. Her coyness, 
in short only tends to inflame his unhal- 
lowed passions to the highest pitch of vo- 
luptuous delirium. The sequel verifies tho 
proverb, " give an inch and he will take an 
ell." And I will be bold to affirm, that 
such a man, though his intentions, affec- 
tions, and resolutions, be ever so ardent, 
disinterested and sincere, towards the girl 
he ruined, prior to that tragical event, jet 
posterior to it, his good intentions awd re- 
solutions will be eventually vanquished, 
and nothing, I am confident, not even the 
loss of fortune, friends and health, or 
even life itself, will so effectually annihi- 
late the love that man entertains, as im- 
prudence and immodesty on the part of 
that woman ; and this is very natural. If 
I love a woman ardently and affectionately, 
and really intend to make her my wedded 
wife ; if that woman will allow me, previ- 
ous to the matrimonial alliance, to take li~ 
berties incompatible with her chastity — 
this imprudence on her part destroys all 
confidence on mine ; and consequently, 
vanquishes my love, though not my pity : 
for I must believe, indeed I cannot help 
believing, that she would give another pQr^ 



135 

gon, under the same circumstances and 
with the same opportunity and importunity, 
the same liberties she gave to me ; and she 
is not, of course a lit person for an 
honourable man's wife: and indeed, I could 
not marry her without sacrificing my fu- 
ture mental and domestic peace ; for I nev 
ver could have real confidence in her ; and 
consequently, jealousy would be always on 
the most trivial occasions, lifting up its 
distracted head, and with the keenest pangs 
imbittering my future days. Hence 

€i The heedless girl who stoops to guilty joys, 
A man may pity but he must despise." 

This friendly caution may save some inno- 
cctit girl from premature prostitution, and 
enable her to shun not only present but eter- 
nal woe. For it is a lamentable, as well as a 
s v tibborn fact, that seduction is the parent ox 
millions, of private prostitutes, who cheat ma- 

an innocent man to his ruin : and thou- 
sands of public ones, who are a disgrace to 
their own sex, and the curse of ours. And 
which irresistibly impels hundreds of amia- 
ble young women of delicate honour and 

ceptible imaginations (like Lueretia) 

their fall from virtue, to seek an as- 

syiuui ]\i suicide, or die of a broken heart. 

O how great musllhe criminaliiy of those 



136 

parents be, who, while they lavish hundreds 
of dollars, to purchase novels and fashion- 
able dresses for their daughters, would not 
give one cent for a book that would defend 
them from seduction, infamy and ruin. 
However, I trust there are some reason- 
able parents, who will at once see the im- 
portance of these familiar and friendly re- 
marks, and will encourage their children to 
peruse them. 

Let the mother only read the two antece- 
dent pages to her daughter, and if she is not 
unchaste in her heart, it will be a sufficient 
warning to her. And to the young, prudent 
unsuspecting woman, who has a deceitful 
lover, let her only read those pages to him, 
and his enchantments will be instantly bro- 
ken. As the charm of the speckled serpent 
is broken by the firing of a gun, before 
whose open mouth, the innocent golden 
bird was hopping, ready every moment to 
be devoured by the fascinating reptile. The 
parents who despise this admonition, must 
surely be either rogues, or fools ; and no 
tongue ean express the magnitude of the 
evils existing in society through their folly, 
neglect, and indifference ; millions of un- 
happy, and unsuspecting females have been 
ruined, soul and body, through paternal 
neglect, and maternal imprudence. 



101 

« The freedom of discussion, which had 
taken place, had given great offence to gen- 
tlemen on the treasury bench ; they were 
men of nice and punctilious honour, and 
they would not endure that any thing should 
be said which implied a reflection on their 
untainted and virgin integrity. They threat- 
ened, said he, to take down the words of an 
honourable gentleman who had spoken be- 
fore him, because they conveyed an insinu- 
ation : and he promised them on that occa- 
sion, that if the fancy for taking down words 
continued, he would indulge them in it to 
the top of their bent. He was determined 
to keep his word with them : lie would not 
insinuate, but directly assert, that base and 
wicked as was the object proposed, the 
means used to effect it had been more flagi- 
tious and abominable ! Did they choose to 
down his words? Did they dare him 
to the proof? He had been induced to think 
thai they hud at the head of the executive 
government m that Country, a plain honest 
soldier, unaccustomed to and disdaining the 
intrigues of politics, and who, as an addi- 
tional evidence of the directness and purity 
of his views, had chosen for his secretary a 
simple and modest youth, fPuer ingenui 
vnltus ingenuique pudorisj whose inexpe- 
rience was the voucher of his innocence \ 



102 

yet was lie bold to say, that daring the vice- 
royalty of that unspotted veteran, and dur- 
ing the administration of that unassuming 
stripling, within the last six weeks, a system 
of black corruption had been carried on 
within the walls of the castle, which would 
disgrace the annals of the worst period of 
the history of either country. Did they 
choose to take down his words ? He needed 
to call no witnesses to their bar to prove 
them. He saw two right honourable gen- 
tlemen sitting within those walls, who had 
Jong and faithfully served the crown, and 
who had been dismissed, because they dar- 
ed to express a sentiment in favour of the 
freedom of their country. He saw another 
lionourable gentleman, who had been forced 
to resign his place as commissioner of the* 
revenue, because he refused to co-operate 
in that dirty job of a dirty administration : 
did they dare to deny this? ' I say that at 
this moment the threat of dismissal from 
office is suspended over the heads of the 
members, who now sit around me, in order 
to influence/ their votes on the question of 
this night, involving every thing that can 
he sacred or dear to man : do you desire to 
take down my words ? Utter the desire, and 
I will prove the truth of them at your bar. 
Sir, I would warn you against the con* 



103 

quences of carrying this measure by such 
means as this, butthat I seethe necessary de- 
feat of it in the honest and universal indig- 
nation which the adoption of such means 
excites : I see the protection against the 
wickedness of the plan in the imbecility of 
its execution, and I congratulate my coun- 
try, that when a design was formed against 
their liberties, the prosecution of it was en- 
trusted to such hands as it is now placed in/ 
He then entered into a very wide range of 
the subject, which he most violently repro- 
bated, and bitterly inveighed against the 
British minister for having acted insidiously 
towards his friend and ally in the hour of 
her calamity and distress. At a moment 
when Ireland was filled with British troops, 
where the loyal men were fatigued and ex- 
hausted by their efforts to subdue rebellion ; 
efforts, in which they had succeeded before 
those troops arrived, whilst their Habeas 
Corpus act was suspended, whilst trials by 
court martial were carrying on in many 
parts of the kingdom, whilst the people were 
taught to think, that they had no right to 
meet or to deliberate, and whilst the great 
body of them were so palsied by their fears, 
and worn down by their exertions, that 
even the vital question was scarcely able to 
rouse them from their lethargy : at a mo* 



164 

raent, when they were distracted by domes- 
tic dissentions : dissentions artfully kept 
alive as the pretext for their present subju- 
gation, and the instrument of their future 
thraldom. He thanked administration for 
the measure. They were without intending 
it, putting an end to their dissentions. 
Through that black cloud, which they had 
collected over them, he saw the light break- 
ing in upon their unfortunate country ; they 
had composed dissentions, not by fomenting 
the embers of a lingering and subdued re- 
bellion, not by hallooing the Protestant 
against the Catholic and the Catholic against 
the Protestant, not by committing the north 
against the south, not by inconsistent ap- 
peals to local or party prejudices : no, but 
by the avowal of that ntrocious conspiracy 
against the liberties of Ireland, they had 
subdued every petty feeling and subordinate 
distinction. They had united every rank 
and description of men by the pressure of 
that grand and momentous subject ; and he 
told them, that they would see every hon- 
est and independent man in Ireland rally 
round her constitution, and merge every 
other consideration m bis opposition to that- 
ungenerous and odious measure; for his 
Own part, he would resist it to the last gasp 
of his existence* and the last droy of jtf$ 



44d 

less ugly, and dwarfish, for they are gmaJJ 
and ill formed. 

All the Tartars have the upper part of 
the countenance very large and wrinkled, 
even in youth; the nose short and gross, 
the eye small and sunken, the cheeks very 
high, the lower part of the face narrow, the 
chin long and prominent, the upper jaw 
sunken, the teeth long and separated, the 
eyebrows large, covering the eyes, the 
eyelids thick, the face flat, their skin of aa 
olive colour, and their hair black. They 
are of a middle stature and very strong and 
robust ; have little hair which grows in 
small tufts, like that of the Chinese ; thick 
thighs, and short legs. 

The little or Nogais Tartars have lost a 
part of their ugliness, by having intermin- 
gled with the Circassians. As we proceed 
eastward, into free or independent Tartary, 
the features of the Tartars beeome some- 
thing less hard, but the essential character- 
istics of their race ever remain. The Mo- 
gul Tartars, who conquered China, and 
who were the most polished of these nations, 
are, at present, the least ugly and ill made? 
yet have they, like the others, small eyes, 
the face large and flat, little beard, but air 
ways black or red, and the nose short and 
c^pmpresseci 



, i4& 

Among the Kergisi and Tchremisi Tar- 
tars there is a whole nation, or tribe, 
among; whom are very singularly beautiful 
mien and women* The manners of the 
Chinese and Tartars are wholly opposite, 
more so than arc their countenances and 
forms. The limbs of the Chinese are well 
proportioned, large and fat. Their faces 
are round and capacious, their eyes 
small, their eyebrows large, their eyelids 
raised, and their noses little and compres- 
sed. They only have seven or eight tufts 
of black hair on each lip, and very little on 
the chin. 

The natives of the coast, of New Hol- 
land, which lies in sixteen degrees fifteen 
minutes of south latitude, and to the south 
of the isle of Limor, are perhaps the 
most miserable people on earth, and of all 
the human race most approach the brute 
animal. They are tall, upright and slen- 
der. Their limbs are long and supple* 
their heads great, their forehead round, 
their eyebrows thick, and their eyelids half 
shut. This they acquire by habit in their 
infancy, to preserve their eyes from t)\^ 
gnats, by which they are greatly incom- 
moded ; and as they never much open 
their eyes, they cannot see at a distance, 



at least nut without they raise the head a§ 
if they wished to look at something' above 
them. Thej have large noses, tliick lips, 
and wide mouths. It should seem that 
they draw the two upper fore teeth, for 4 
neither man nor woman, young nor old, 1 
have these teeth. They have no heard ; 
their faces are long and very disagreeable* 
without a single pleasing feature j their hair 
not long and sleek, like that of most of the 
Indians, but short black and curly, like that 
of the negroes. Their skin is black, and 
resembles that of the Indians of the coast 
of Guinea. 

If we now examine the nations inhabit 
ting a more temperate climate, we shall 
find, that the people of the northern pro* 
vinecs, of the Mogul empire, Persia, the 
Armenians, Turks, Georgians, Mingre - 
lians, Circassians, Greeks, and all the in- 
habitants of Europe, arc the handsomest* 
•wisest, and best formed of any on earth; 
and that, though the distance between tlm 
Cache mire and Spain, or Circassia andf 
France, is very great, there is still a very 
singular resemblance between people so 
far from each other, but situated in nearly 
the same latitude. The people of Cache- 
mire are renowned for beauty, are as welt 
formed as (he Europeans, and hare n<> 



144 

fltfffg of the Tartar countenance, the flat 
apse, and the small pig's eyes, which are so 
universal among their neighbours. 

The complexion of the Georgians is still 
U&pre beautiful than that of Cachemire ; no 
ugly face is found in the country, and na- 
ture has endowed most of the women with 
graces which are n^ where else to be dis- 
covered. The men also are very handsome, 
have natural understanding, and would be 
capable of arts and sciences, did not their 
i>ad education render them exceedingly ig- 
norant and vicious ; yet, with all their vices, 
the Georgians are civil, humane, grave, and 
moderate ; they seldom are under the influ- 
ence of anger, though they become irrecon- 
cilable enemies having once entertained 
hatred. 

The Circassians and Mingrelians are 
equally beautiful and well formed. The 
lame and the crooked are seldom seen 
among the Turks* The Spaniards are mea- 
gre, and rather small ; they are well sha- 
ped, have fine heads, regular features, good 
eyes, and well arranged teeth ; but their 
complexions are dark, and inclined to yel- 
low. It has been remarked, that in some 
provinces of Spain as near the banks of the 
river Biadossa, the people have exceeding- 
ly large ears*" 



145 

We will now introduce the ingenious physi- 
ognomical remarks of Lavater. They are 
the result of ten years experience, and 
those who candidly compare them with 
countenances in real life, will find that he 
is, as I have affirmed, the greatest physiog- 
nomist that ever the world beheld. Would 
the anti-physiognomist take the trouble 
to view, even in the most superficial man- 
ner, his arguments in favour of the sci- 
ence of physiognomy, he would be abun- 
dantly repaid for his trouble, 

CHAPTER I. 

Or THE FOREHEAD, 

I SHALL appropriate this and some of 
the following chapters to remarks on cer* 
tain individual parts of the human body.-*- 
The following are my own remarks on fore- 
heads. 

The forming, height, arching, propor- 
tion, obliquity, and position of the scull, or 
bone of the forehead, shew the propensity, 
degree of power, thought, and sensibility 
of man. The covering or skin of the fore 
head, its position, colour, wrinkles, and ten- 
sion, denote the passions and present state 
of the mind. The bones give the internal 
quantity, and their covering the application 
of power. 

n 



146 

Though the skin be wrinkled, the fore- 
&ead bones remain unaltered ; but this 
i#Stkling varies according to the various 
forms of the bones. A certain degree of 
flatness produces certain wrinkles; a cer- 
tain arching is attended by certain other 
wrinkles j so that the wrinkles, separately 
considered, will give the arching ; and this, 
vice versa, will give the wrinkles. Cer- 
tain foreheads can only have perpendicular, 
others horizontal, others curved, and others 
mixed and confused wrinkles. Cup-formed 
(smooth) cornerless foreheads, when they 
are in motion, commonly have the simplest 
and least perplexed wrinkles. 

I consider the peculiar delineation of the 
outline and position of the forehead, which 
has been left unattempted by ancient and 
modern physiognomists, to be the most im- 
portant of all the things presented to phy- 
siognomical observation. We may divide 
foreheads, considered in profile, into three 
principal classes, the retreating, the per- 
pendicular, and the projecting. Each of 
these classes has a multitude of variations, 
which may easily again* be classed, and the 
chief of which are rectilinear; half round, 
half rectilinear, flowing into each other ; 
half round, half rectilinear, interrupted ; 
curve lined, simple : the curve lined* dou- 
ble and triple. 



147 

I shall add some more particular remarks* 
which I apprehend, will not be unaccepta- 
ble to my readers : 

1. The longer the forehead, the more 
comprehension, and less activity. 

2. The more compressed, short, and firm 
the forehead, the more comprehension, 
firmness, and less volatility in the man, 

3. The more curved and corner! ess the 
outline, the more tender and flexible the 
character ; the more rectilinear, the more 
pertinacity and severity. 

4. Perfect perpendicularly, from the hair 
to the eye-brows, want of understanding. 

5. Perfect perpendicularly, gently arch- 
ed at the top, denotes excellent propensi- 
ties of cold, tranquil, profound thinking. 

6. Projecting imbecility, immaturity, 

weakness, stupidity. 

7. Retreating, in general, denotes supe- 
riority of imagination, wit, and aeuteness. 

8. The round and prominent forehead 
above, straight lined below, and on the 
whole perpendicular, shows much under- 
standing, life, sensibility, ardour, and icy 
coldness. 

9. The oblique, rectilinear forehead, is 
also very ardent and vigorous. 

10. Arched foreheads appear properly to 
be feminine. 

11. A happy union of straight and curv* 



IIS 

ett limn, with a happy position of the fore- 
bead, express the most perfect character of 
trisdom. By happy union, I mean, when 
the lines insensibly flow into each other ; 
and by happy position, when the forehead 
is neither too perpendicular, nor too re- 
treating* 

12. I might almost establish it as an ax- 
iom, that right lines, considered as such* 
and curves, considered as such, are related 
as power and weakness, obstinacy and flex- 
ibility, understanding and sensation. 

13. I have hitherto seen no man with 
sharp projecting eye-hones, who had not 
great propensity to an acute exercise of the 
understanding, and to wise plans 

14. Yet there are many excellent heads 
which have not this sharpness, and whteh 
have the more solidity, if the forehead, 
like a perpendicular wall, sink upon the 
horizontal eye-brows, and be greatly round- 
ed on each side towards the temples. 

15. Perpendicular foreheads, projecting 
so as not immediately to rest upon the nose, 
which are small, wrinkly, short and shin- 
ing, are certain signs of weakness little un- 
derstanding, little imagination, little sensa- 
tion. 

±6. Foreheads with many angular, ferrot- 
ty protuberances, ever denote much vigo- 
rous, firm, harsh, oppressive, ardent activi- 
ty and perseverance. 



149 

17. It is a sure sign of a clear, sound un- 
derstanding, and a good temperament, when 
the profile of the forehead has too propor- 
tionate arches, the lower of which projects. 

18. Eye-bones with defined, marking, ea- 
sily delineated, firm arches, I never saw 
but in noble and in great men. All the ideal 
antiques have these arches. 

19. Square foreheads, that is to say, with 
extensive temples, and firm eyebones, show 
circumspection and certainty of character. 

20 Perpendicular wrinkles, if natural 
to the forehead, denote application and 
power ; horizontal wrinkles, and those 
broken in the middle, or at the extremi- 
ties, in general negligence, or want of 
power. 

21. Perpendicular, deep indentings, in 
the bones of the forehead, between the eye- 
brows, I never met with but in men of 
sound understanding, and free and noble 
minds, unless there were some positively 
contradictory feature. 

22. A blue vena frontalis, in the form of 
a Y, when in an open, smooth, well-arched 
forehead, I have only found in men of ex- 
traordinary talents, and of an ardent and 
generous character. 

23. The following are the most indubita- 
ble signs of an excellent, a perfectly beau- 

sr 3 



150 

tifnl and significant, intelligent, and noble 
forehead. 

An exact proportion to the other parts of 
the countenance. It must equal the nose or 
the under part of the face in length, that is, 
one-third. 

In breadth, it must be eitliQ-r oval at the 
top (like the foreheads of most of the great 
men of England) or nearly square. 

A freedom from unevenness and wrin- 
kles, yet with the power of wrinkling when 
deep in thought, afflicted by pain, or from 
just indignation. 

Above it must retreat, project beneath. 

The eye-bones must be simple, horizon- 
tal,- and, if Been from above, must present 
a pure curve. 

There should be a small cavity in the cen- 
tre from above to billow and traversing the 
forehead, so as to separate into four divi- 
sions, which can only be perceptible to a 
clear descending* light. 

The skin must be more clear in the fore- 
head, than in the other parts of the coun- 
tenance. 

The forehead must every where be com- 
posed of such out lines as? if the section of 
one-third only be viewed, it can scarcely 
be determined whether the lines are straight 
or circular. 

2i. Short, wrinkled, knotty, regular, 



151 

pressed in one side* and saweut foreheads, 
with interesting wrinkles, are incapable of 
durable friendship, 

25. Be not discouraged so long as a friend, 
an enemy, a child, or a brother, though a 
transgressor, has a good, well proportion- 
ed, open forehead : there is still much cer- 
tainty of improvement, much cause of hope. 



CHAPTER II. 

OF THE EYES AND EYEBROWS. 

BLUE eyes are generally more signifi- 
cant of weakness, effeminacy, and yielding, 
than black or brown. True it is, there are 
many powerful men with blue eyes ; but I 
find more strength, manhood and thought, 
combined with brown than with blue. — 
Wherefore does it happen, that the Chi- 
nese, or the people of the Philippine Islands, 
are very seldom blue eyed ; and that Eu- 
ropeans, only, or tie descendants of the Eu- 
ropeans, have blue eyes in those countries ? 
This is the more worthy of enquiry, because 
there are no people more elfeminate or in- 
dolent than the Chinese. 

Choleric men have eyes of every colour, 
but more brown, and inclined to green, 
than blue. This propensity to green is al- 



152 

most a decisive token of ardour, fire, and 
courage. 

I have never met with clear blue eyes in 
the melancholic, seldom in the choleric; but 
most in the phlegmatic temperament, which 
however, had much activity. 

When the under arch described by the 
eyelid is perfectly circular, it always de- 
notes goodness and tenderness, but also fear, 
timidity and weakness. 

The open eye, not compressed, forming 
a long acute angle with the nose, I have sel- 
dom seen, except in acute and understand- 
ing persons. 

Hitherto I have seen no eye, where the 
eyelid formed a horizontal line over the pu- 
pil, that did not appertain to a very acute, 
able, subtle man : but be it understood, 
that 1 have met with this eye in very wor- 
thy men, but men of great penetration and 
simulation. 

Wide, open eyes, with the white seen 
under the apple, I have often observed in 
the timid and phlegmatic, and also in the 
courageous and rash. When compared, 
however, the iiery and the feeble, the de- 
termined and the undetermined, will easily 
be distinguished. The former are more 
firm, more strongly delineated, have less 
obliquity, have thicker, better cut, but less 
skinny eyelids. 



153 

<« The colours most common to the eyes 
are, the orange, yellow, green, blue, grey, 
and grey mixed with white. The blue and 
orange are most predominant, and arc often 
found in the same eye. Eyes supposed to 
be black are only yellow, brown, or a deep 
orange ; to convince ourselves of which, 
we need but look at them closely : for when 
seen at a distance, or turned towards the 
light, they appear to be black ; because the 
yell >w-bro\vn colour is so contrasted to the 
white of the eye, that the opposition makes 
it supposed black. Eyes also of a less dark 
colour pass for black eyes, but are not es- 
teemed so fine as the other, because the con 
trast is not so great. There are also yellow, 
and light yellow eyes, which do not appear 
black, because the colours are not deep 
enough to be overpowered by the shade. 

It is not uncommon to perceive shades of 
orange, yellow, grey, and blue, in the same 
eye : and whenever blue appears, however 
small the tincture, it becomes the predomi- 
nant colour, and appears in streaks over the 
whole iris. The orange is in flakes, round, 
iui<i at some little distance from the pupil ; 
but it is so strongly effaced by the blue, that 
the eve appears wholly blue, and the mix- 
ture >(' orange is only perceived when 
closely inspected. 

The finest eyes arc those which we im:?- 



134 

gine to be black or blue. Vivacity and fire, 
which are the principal characteristics of 
the eyes, are the more emitted when the 
colours are deep and contrasted, rather than 
when slightly shaded. Black eyes have 
more strength of expression, and most vi- 
vacity, but the blue have the most mildness 
and perhaps are more arch. In the former 
there is an ardour uninterruptedly bright, 
because the colour, which appears to us uni- 
form, every way emits similar reflexions. 
JBut modifications are distinguished in tiie 
light which animates blue eyes, because 
there are various tints of colour, which pro- 
duce various reflexions. 

There are eyes which are remarkable 
for having what may be said to be no co- 
lour. They appear to be differently consti- 
tuted from others. The iris has only some 
shades of blue, or grey, so feeble, that 
they are, in some parts, almost white ; and 
the shades of orange which intervene are 
so small, that they can scarcely be distin- 
guished from grey or white, notwithstand- 
ing the contrast of these colours. The 
black of the pupil is then too marking, be- 
cause the colour of the iris is not deep 
enough, and, as I may say, we see only the 
pupil in the centre of the eye. These eyes 
are unmeaning, and appear to be fixed and 
aghast. 



155 

There are also eyes, the colour of the 
Iris of which is almost green ; but these 
are more uncommon than the blue, the grey, 
the yellow and the yellow brown. There 
are also people whose eyes are not both of 
the same colour. 

The images of our secret agitations are 
particularly painted in the eyes. The eye 
appertains- more to the soul than any other 
organ ; seems affected by, and to partici- 
pate in all its motions ; expresses sensations 
the most lively, passions the most tumultu- 
ous, feelings the most delightful, and senti- 
ments the most delicate. It explains them 
in all their force, in all their purity, as they 
take birth j and transmits them by traits so 
rapid, as to infuse into other minds the fire, 
the activity, the very image with which 
themselves are inspired. The eye at once 
receives and reflects the intelligence of 
thought, and the warmth of sensibility. It 
is the sense of the mind, and the tongue of 
the understanding." 

Again, "As in nature, so in art, the 
eyes are differently formed in the statues of 
the gods, and in heads of ideal beauty, so 
that the eye itself is the distinguishing to- 
ken. Jupiter, Juno, and Apollo, have large, 
round, well arched eyc3, shortened in 
length, in order that the arch may be the 
higher. Pallas, in like manner, has large 



166 

eyes ; but the upper eyelid, which is drawn 
up, is expressive of attraction and languish- 
ment. Such an eye distinguishes the hea- 
venly Venus Urania from Juno : yet the 
statue of this Venus bearing a diadem, has 
for that reason often been mistaken, by 
those who have not made this observation, 
for the statue of Juno. Many of the mo- 
dern artists appear to have been desirous 
of excelling the ancients, and to give what 
Homer calls the ox-eye, by making the pu- 
pil project, and seem to start from the sock- 
et. Such an eye lias the modern head of 
the erroneously supposed Cleopatra, in the 
Medicean villa, and which presents the idea 
of a person strangled. The same kind of 
eye a young artist has given to the statue 
of the Holy Virgin in the church St. Carlo 
at Torso." 

I shall quote one more passage from Pa- 
racelsus, who, though an astrological enthu- 
siast, was a man of prodigious genius. 

" To come to the practical part, and give 
proper signs, with some of their significa- 
tions, it is to be remarked, that blackness in 
the eyes generally denotes health, a firm 
mind not wavering, but courageous, true, 
and honourable. Grey eyes generally de- 
note deceit, instability and indecision. — 
Short sight denotes an able projector, crafty 
and intriguing in action. The squinting 



157 

©r false-sighted, who see on both sides, or 
over and under, certainly denotes a deceit- 
ful, crafty person, not easily deceived, mis- 
trustful, and not always to be trusted; one 
who willingly avoids labour where he can, 
indulging in idleness, play, usury and pilfer- 
ing. Small and deep sunken eyes are bold 
in opposition ; not discouraged, intriguing 
and active in wickedness ; capable of suffer- 
ing much. Large eyes denote a covetous 
greedy man, and especially when they arc 
prominent. Eyes in continual motion, sig- 
nify short or weak sight, fear and care. — 
The winking eye denotes an amorous dispo- 
sition, foresight, and quickness in projecting. 
The downcast eye shows shame and modes 
iy. Red eyes signify courage and strength. 
Bright eyes, slow of motion, bespeak the 
hero, great acts, audacious, cheerful, one 
feared by his enemies." 

It will not be expected I should subscribe 
to all these opinions, they being most of 
them- ill founded, at least ill defined. 

Tin: EYEBROWS. 

Eyebrows regularly arched are charac- 
teristic of feminine youth ; rectilinear and 
horizontal, are masculine; arched and the 
horizontal combined, denote masculine un- 
ianding, and feminine kiriuiicss. 
o 



158 

Wild and perplexed, denote a corres- 
ponding mind, unless the hair he soft, and 
then they signify gentle ardour. 

Compressed, firm, with the hairs running 
parallel, as if cut, are one of the most de- 
cisive signs of a firm, manly, mature un- 
derstanding, profound wisdom, and a true 
and unerring perception. 

Meeting eyebrows, held bo beautiful by 
the Arabs, and by old physiognomists, sup- 
posed to be the mark of craft, I can neither 
believe to be beautiful, nor characteristic of 
such a quality. They are found in the most 
open, honest, and worthy countenances. — 
It is true, they give the face a gloomy ap- 
pearance, and perhaps denote trouble of 
mind and heart. 

Sunken eyebrows, says Winkelmann, im- 
part something of the severe and melancho- 
ly to the head of Antinous. 

I never yet saw a profound thinker, or 
even a man of fortitude and prudence, with 
weak, high eyebrows, which in some mea- 
sure equally divide the forehead. 

Weak eye brows denote phlegm and de- 
bility, though there are choleric and power- 
ful men who have them ; but this weak- 
ness of eyebrows is always a deduction from 
power and ardour. 

Angular, strong, interrupted eyebrows, 
ever denote fire and productive activity. 



159 

The nearer the eyebrows are to the eyes, 
the more earnest, deep and firm the charac- 
ter. 

The more remote from the eyes, the more 
volatile, easily removed, and less enter- 
prising. 

Remote from each other, warm, open, 
quick sensation. 

White eyebroAvs signify weakness; and 
dark brown, firmness. 

The motion of the eyebrows contains 
numerous expressions, especially of ignoble 
passions, pride, anger, and contempt. 



CHAPTER III. 

OF THE NOSE. 

I have generally considered the Nose as 
the foundation or abutment of the brains — 
Whoever is acquainted with the Gothic arch 
will perfectly understand what I mean by 
this abutment : for upon this the whole 
power of the arch of the forehead rests, and 
without it the mouth and cheeks would bu 
oppressed by miserable ruins. 

A beautiful nose will never be found ac- 
companying an ugly countenance. An ugly 
person may have fine eyes, but not a hand- 
some nose. I meet with thousands of beau- 



160 

tiful eyes before one such nose ; and where- 
ever 1 find the latter it denotes an extraor- 
dinary character. The following is requi- 
site to the perfectly beautiful nose : 

Its length should equal the length of the 
forehead. At the top should be a gentle in- 
denting. Viewed in front the back should 
be broad, and nearly parallel, yet above the 
centre something broader. The button at 
the end of the nose, must be neither hai*d 
nor fleshy, and its under outline must be re- 
markably definite, well delineated, neither 
pointed nor very broad. The sides seen in 
front must be well defined, and the descend- 
ing nostrils gently shortened. Viewed in pro- 
file, the bottom of the nose should not have 
more than one-third of its length. The nos- 
trils above must be pointed; below, round, 
and have in general a gentle curve, and be 
divided into two equal parts, by the profile 
of the upper lip. The sides or arch of the 
nose must be a kind of wall. Above, it 
must close well with the arch of the eye- 
bone, and near the eye must be at least half 
an inch in breadth. Such a, nose is of more 
worth than a kingdom. There are, 
indeed, innumerable excellent men with 
defective noses, but their excellence is of 
a very different kind. I have seen the pur- 
est, most capable, and noble persons, with 
small noses, and hollow in profile ; but their 



161 

worth most consisted in suffering, listening, 
learning, and enjoying the beautiful of ima- 
gination; provided the other parts of the 
form were well organized. Noses, on the 
contrary, which are arched near the fore- 
head, are capable of command, can rule, 
act, overcome, destroy. Rectilinear noses 
may be 'called the key-stone between the 
two extremes. They equally act and suf- 
fer with power and tranquillity. 

Boerhaave, Socrates, Lairesse^had, more 
ot less, ugly noses, and yet were great 
men ; but their character was that of gen- 
tleness and patience. 

I have never yet seen a nose with a 
broad back, whether arched or rectilinear, 
that did not appertain to an extraordinary 
man. We may examine thousands of coun- 
tenances, and numbers of portraits of supe- 
rior men, before v/e find such a one. 

These noses were possessed, more or less 
hy Raynal, Faustus Socinus, Swift, Caesar, 
Borgia, Clepzecker, Anthony Pagi, John 
Charles von Enkenberg (a man of Hercu- 
lanean strength) Paul Sarpi, Peter de Me- 
dices, Francis Caracci, Cassina, Lucas van 
Lcydcn, Titian. 

There are also noses that are not broad 
backed, but small near the forehead, of ex- 
traordinary power; but their power is ra- 
ther elastic and momentary than productive, 
o 2 



162 

The Tartars generally have flat indented 
noses ; the negroes broad, and the Jews 
hawk noses. The noses of Englishmen are 
seldom pointed, but generally round. The 
Dutch, if we may judge from their por- 
traits, seldom have handsome or significant 
noses. The nose of the Italian is large and 
energetic. The great men of France, in 
my opinion, have the characteristic of their 
greatness generally in the nose : to prove 
which, examine the collection of portraits 
by Perrault and Morin. 

Small nostrils are usually an undubitable 
sign of unenterprising timidity. The open, 
breathing nostril, is as certain a token of 
sensibility, which may easily degenerate 
into sensuality. 



CHAPTER IV. 

OF THK MOUTH AND XIFS. 

THE contents of the mind are communi- 
cated to the mouth. How full of character 
is the mouth, whether at rest or speaking, 
by its infinite powers! 

Whoever internally feels the worth of 
this member, so different from every other 
member, so inseparable, so not to be de- 
fined, so simple, yet so various; whoever. 



ten 

I say, knows and feels this worth, will 
speak and act with divine wisdom ! Oh ! 
wherefore can I only imperfectly and trem- 
blingly declare all the honours of the month 
— the chief seat of wisdom and folly, pow- 
er and debility, virtue and vice, beauty and 
deformity, of the human mind — the scat of 
all love, all hatred, all sincerity, all false- 
hood, all pride, all dissimulation, and all 
jtrutli ? 

Ob ! with what adoration would I speak, 
and be silent, were I a more perfect man! 
Oh! discordant, degraded humanity! Oh! 
mournful secret of my misinformed youth ! 
When, Oftiniscienee, shalt thou stand re- 
vealed ? Unworthy as I am, yet do I adore. 
Yet worthy I shall be ; worthy as the na- 
ture of man will permit: for Tie who crea- 
ted me, gave me a mouth to glorify him! 

Painters and designers* what shall I say 
that may induce you to study this sacred or- 
gan in all its beauteous expressions, all its 
Jiarmony and proportion ? 

Take plaster impressions of characteristic 
mouths, of* the living and the dead; draw 
alter, pore over them : learn, observe, 
continue day alter day to study one only; 
and, having perfectly studied that, you will 
hare studied many. Oh ! pardon me ; my 
heart is oppressed. Among ten or twenty 
dranghtsjnni| to whom for three years \ 



164 

have preached, whom I have instructed, 
have drawn examples for, not one have I 
found who felt as he ought to feel, saw what 
was to be seen, or could represent that 
which was evident. What was I to hope ? 

Every thing may be expected from a col- 
lection of characteristic plaster impressions, 
which might so easily be made, were such 
a collection only once formed,, But who 
can say whether such observations might 
not declare too much ? Tie human machine 
may be incapable of suffering to be thus 
analyzed, Man, perhaps, might not endure 
such close inspection ; and, therefore, hav- 
ing eyes, he sees not. — I speak it with tears, 
and why I weep, thou knowest, who with 
me inquirest into the worth of man. And 
you, weaker? yet candid, though on this oc- 
casion, unfeeling readers, pardon me ! 

Observe the following rules : Distin- 
guish in each mouth the upper lip singly j 
the under lip the same ; the line formed by 
the union of both, when tranquilly closed, 
if they can be closed without constraint ; 
the middle of the upper lip, in particular ; 
and of the under lip; the bottom of the 
middle line at each end ; and, lastly, the 
extending of the middle line on both sides. 
For, unless you thus distinguish, you will 
not be able to delineate the mouth aeeu- 
ratelv. 



As arc the lips, so is the character. Firm 
lips, firm character; weak lips, and quick in 
motion, weak and wavering character. 

Well defined, large, and proportionate 
lips, the middle line of which is equally ser- 
pentine on both sides, and easy to be drawn, 
though they may denote an inclination to 
pleasure, are never seen in a bad, mean, 
common, false, crouching, vicious counte- 
nance. 

A liplcss mouth, resembling a single line, 
denotes coldness, industry, a love of order, 
precision, housewifery ; and if it be drawn 
upwards at the two ends, affectation, pre- 
tension, vanity, and which may ever be the 
production of cool vanity, malice. 

Very fleshy lips must ever have to con- 
tend with sensuality and indolence : the 
cut-through, sharp-drawn lip, with anxiety 
and avarice. 

Calm lips, well closed, without constraint, 
and well delineated, certainly betoken con- 
sideration, discretion, and firmness. 

A mild overhanging upper lip generally 
signifies goodness. There are innumerable 
good persons also with projecting under 
lips: but the goodness of the latter is rather 
cold fidelity, and well meaning, than warm 
active friendship. 

The under lip, hollowed in the middle, 
denotes a fanciful character. Let the mo- 



166 

"went be remarked, when the conceit of the 
jocular man descends to the lip, and it will 
be seen to be a little hollow in the middle. 

A closed mouth, not sharpened, not af- 
fected, always denotes courage and forti- 
tude ; and the open mouth always closes 
where courage is indispensible. Openness 
of mouth speaks complaint ; and closeness, 
endurance. 

Though physiognomists have as yet but 
little noticed,' yet much ifcight be said con- 
cerning the lip improper, or the fleshy cov- 
ering of the upper teeth, on which anato- 
mists have not to my knowledge, yet be- 
stowed any name, and which may be called 
the curtain, or pallium, extended from the 
beginning of the nose to the red upper lip 
proper. 

If the upper lip improper be long, the 
proper is always short ; if it be short and 
hollow, the proper will be large and curved 
—-another certain demonstration of the con- 
formity of the human countenance. Hollow 
upper lips are much less common than flat 
and perpendicular : the character they de- 
note is equally uncommon. 



CHAPTER V. 

OF THE TEETH AXD CHIN. 

NOTHING is more striking, or continu- 



167 

ally visible, than the characteristics of the 
teeth, and the manner in which they display 
themselves. The following are the obser- 
vations I have made thereon : 

Small, short teeth, which have generally 
been held by the old physiognomists to de- 
note weakness, I have remarked them in 
adults of extraordinary strength ; but they 
seldom were of a pure white. 

Long teeth are certain signs of weakness 
and pusillanimity. White, clean, well ar- 
ranged teeth, visible as soon as the mouth 
opens, but not projecting, nor always en- 
tirely seen, I have never met within adults, 
except in good, acute honest, candid faith- 
ful men. 

I have also met foul, uneven, and ugly 
teeth in persons of the above character ; 
but it was always either sickness, or some 
mental imperfection, which gave this defor- 
mity. 

Whoever leaves his teeth foul, and docs 
not attempt to clean them, certainly betrays 
much of the negligence of his character, 
which does him no honour. 

As are the teeth of man, that is to say, 
their form, position, and cleanliness (so far 
as the latter depends on himself,) so is his 
taste. 

Wherever the upper row is very visible 
at the first opening of the lips, there is gen- 
erally much cold and phlegm. 



168 

Much, indeed, might be written upon tl\e 
teeth, though they are generally neglected 
ill all historical paintings. To be convinc- 
ed of this, we need but observe the teeth 
of an individual during a single day, or con- 
template an apartment crowded with fools. 
We should not then, for a moment, deny 
that the teeth, in conjunction with the lips, 
are very characteristic ; or that physiogno- 
my has gained another token, which tri- 
umphs over all the arts of dissimulation. 

THE CHIN. 

I' am, from numerous experiments, con- 
vinced that the projecting chin ever denotes 
something positive, and the retreating 
something negative. The presence or ab- 
sence of strength in man is often signified 
dj the chin. 

I have never seen sharp indentings in the 
middle of the chin but in men of cool under- 
standing, unless when something evidently 
contradictory appeared in the countenance. 

The pointed chin is generally held to be 
a sign of aeuteness and craft, though I know 
very worthy persons with such chins. — 
Their craft is the craft of the best dramatic 
poetry. 

The soft,, fat,. douMe- chin, generally 



points out the epicure ; and the angular 
chin is seldom found but in discreet, well 
disposed, firm men. 

Flatness of chin speaks the cold and dry ; 
smallriess, fear ; and roundness, with a dim- 
ple, benevolence. 



CHAPTER Y. 

OF SCULLS. 

HOW much may the anatomist sec in the 
mere scull of man ! How much more the 
physiognomist ! And how much the most 
the anatomist who is a physiognomist ! I 
blush when I think how much I ought to 
know, and of how much I am ignorant, 
while writing on a part of the body of man 
which is so superior to all that science has 
yet discovered — to all belief, to all concep- 
tion ! 

I consider the system of the bones as the 
great outline of man, and the scull as the 
principal part of that system. I pay more 
attention to the form and arching of the 
scull, as far as I am acquainted with it, than 
all my predecessors; and I have considered 
this mostfirm, least changeable, and far the 
best defined part of the human body, as the 
foundation of the science of phrsiogncmiy 
P 



170 

I shall therefore be permitted to be partic- 
ular in my observations on this member of 
the human body. 

I confess that I scarcely know where to 
begin, Where to end, what to say* or what 
to omit. I think it adviseable to promise 
a few words concerning the generation and 
formation of human bones. 

The whole of the human foetus is at first 
supposed to be only a soft mucilaginous 
substance, homogeneous in all its parts ; and 
that the bones themselves are but a kind of 
coagulated fluid, which afterwards becomes 
membranous, then cartilaginous* and at last 
hard bone. 

As this viscious congelation, originally so 
transparent and tender, increases, it becomes 
thicker and more opaque, and a dark point 
makes its appearance different from the car- 
tilage, and of the nature of bone, but not 
yet perfectly hard. This point may be 
called the kernel of the future bone, the 
centre round which the ossification extended. 

We must, however, consider the coagula- 
tion attached to the cartilage as a mass with- 
out shape, and only with a propensity for 
assuming its future form. In its earliest, 
tenderest state, the traces of it are expres- 
sed upon the cartilage, though very imper- 
fectly. 

With respect to the bony kernels, we 



171 

find differences which seem to determine 
the form of the future bones. The simple 
and smaller hones have each only one ker- 
nel j but in the more gross, thick, and angu- 
lar, there are several, in different parts of 
the original cartilage ; and it must be re- 
marked, that the number of the joining 
bones is equivalent to the number of the 
kernels. 

In the bones of the scull, the round ker- 
nel first is apparent, in the centre of each 
piece : and the ossification extends itself, 
like radii from the centre, in filaments, 
which increase in length, thickness, and so- 
lidity, and are interwoven with each other 
like net work. Hence these delicate, in- 
dented features of the scull, when its va- 
rious parts are at length joined. 

We have hitherto only spoken of the first 
stage of ossification. The second begins 
about the fourth or fifth month, when the 
bones, together with the rest of the parts, 
are more perfectly formed, and in the pro- 
gress of ossification, include the whole car- 
tilage, according to the more or less life of 
the creature, and the original different im- 
pulse and power of motion in the being. 

Agreeable to their original formation, 
through each succeeding period of age, they 
will continue to increase in thickness and 
J&rduess* But or this subject anatomists 



172 

disagreed—So let them. Future physiogno- 
mists may consider this more at large. I 
retreat from contest, and will travel in the 
high road of certainty, and confine myself 
to what is visible. 

Thus much is certain, that the activity of 
the muscles, vessels, and other parts which 
surround the bones, contribute much to their 
formation, and gradual increase in hard- 
ness. 

The remains of the cartilaginous in the 
young bones, will, in the sixth and seventh 
month, decrease in quantity, harden, and 
whiten, as the bony parts approach perfec- 
tion. Some bones obtain a certain degree 
of firmness in much less time than others ; 
as, for example, the scull bones, and the 
small bones within the ear. Not only whole 
bones, but parts of a single bone, are of 
various degrees of hardness. They will be 
hardest at the place where the kernel of 
ossification began, and the parts adjacent ; 
and the rigidity increases more slowly and 
insensibly, the harder the bones are, and 
the older the man is. What was cartilage 
will become bone ; parts that are separate 
will grow together, and the whole bones be 
deprived of moisture. 

Anatomists divide the form into the na- 
tural or essential, which is generally the 
same in all bones of the human body, how 



173 

different soever it may be to other bodies ; 
and into the accidental, which is subject to 
various changes in the same individual, ac- 
cording to the influence of external objects, 
or, especially, of the gradations of age. 

The first is founded in the universality of 
the nature of parents, and the circumstan- 
ces which naturally and invariably attend 
propagation. Anatomists consider only the 
designation of the bones individually ; on 
this, at least, is grounded the agreement of 
what they call the essential form in distinct 
subjects. This, therefore, only speaks to 
the agreement of human countenances, so 
far as they have each two eyes, one nose, 
one mouth, and other features thus or thus 
disposed. 

This natural formation is certainly as dif- 
ferent as human countenances afterwards 
are ; which difference is the work of Na- 
ture, the original destination of the Lord 
and Creator of all things. The physiogno- 
mist distinguishes between original form 
and deviations. 

Each bone hath its original form, its indi- 
vidual capacity of form. It may, it does 
continually alter ; but it never acquires the 
peculiar form of another hone, which was 
originally different. The accidental chan- 
ges of bones, however great, or differerlt 
from the original forms, are yet ever gov- 
P2 



174 

eimed by the nature of this original individ- 
ual form; nor can any power of pressure 
ever so change the original form, but that, 
if compared to another system of bones that 
has suffered an equal pressure, it will be 
perfectly distinct. As little as the Ethio- 
pian can change his skin, or the leopard his 
spots, whatever be the changes to which 
they may be subject, as little can the origin 
mil form of any bone be changed into the 
original form of any other bone. 

Vessels every where penetrate the bones, 

supplying them with juices and marrow 

The younger the bone is, the more are 
there of these vessels — consequently the 
more porous and flexible are the bones, and 
the reverse. The periods when such or 
such changes take place in the bones cannot 
easily be defined ; it differs according to the 
nature of men and accidental circumstances. 

Large and long and multiform bones, in 
order to facilitate their ossification and 
growth, at first consist of several pieces, the 
smaller of which are called supplemental, 
The bone remains imperfect till these be. 
come incorporated. Hence their possible 
distortion in children., by the rickets awj 
Qther diseases* 



175 

Of the apparently false decisions of Flnjsiog- 
nomy — Of the general objections made to Phy- 
siognomy — Particular objections answered* 

ONE of the strongest objections to the 
certainty of physiognomy is, that the best 
physiogonomists often judge very errone- 
ously. 

It may be proper to make some remarks 
on this objection. 

Be it grantee! the physiognomist often 
errs ; that is to say, his discernment errs, 
not the countenance — But to conclude there 
is no such science as physiognomy, because 
physiognomists err. is the same thing as to 
conclude there is no reason, because there is 
much false reasoning. 

To suppose that, because the physiogno* 
mist has made some false decisions, he has 
no physiognomical discernment, is equal 
to supposing that a man, who had committed 
some mistake of memory, has no memory ; 
or, at best," thai his memory is very weak — 
We must be less hasty. We must first in- 
quire in what proportion his memory is 
faithful, how often it has failed, how often 
been accurate. The miser may perform ten 
acts of charity: must we therefore affirm 
he is charitable ? should we not rather in- 
quire how much he might have given, and 
how often it has been his duty to give ?-*» 



m 

The virtuous man may have ten times been 
guilty, but before he is condemned, it ought 
to be asked, in how many hundred instances 
he has acted uprightly ? He who games must 
oftener lose than he who refrains from gam- 
ing. He who slides or skaits upon the ice, is 
in danger of many a fall, and of being laugh- 
ed at by the less adventurous spectator. 
Whoever frequently gives alms, is liable, 
occasionally, to distribute his bounties to the 
unworthy. He, indeed, who never gives 
cannot commit the same mistake, and may 
truly vaunt of his prudence, since he never 
furnishes opportunities for deceit. In like 
manner, he who never judges, never can 
judge falsely. The physiognomist judges 
oftener than the man who ridicules physi- 
ognomy, consequently must oftener err than 
lie who never risks a physiognomical deci- 
sion. 

Which of the favourable judgments of the 
benevolent physiognomist may not be decri- 
ed as false? Is he not himself a mere man, 
however circumspect, upright, honourable 
and exalted he may be ; a man who has in 
him the root of all evil, the germe of every 
vice ; or, in other words, a man whose 
most worthy propensities, qualities, and in- 
clinations, may occasionally be overstrain- 
ed, wrested, and warped ? 

You behold a meek man, who, after ar- 



177 

pouted and continued provocations to wrath, 
persists in silence ; who, probably, never 
is overtaken by anger, when he himself alone 
is injured. The physiognomist can read his 
heart? fortified to bear and forbear, and im- 
mediately exclaims, behold the most amia- 
ble, the most unconquerable, gentleness, — 
You are silent — You laugh — You leave the 
place, and say, " Fye on such a physiogno- 
mist ! How fuli of wrath have I seen this 
man !" — -When was it that you saw him in 
wrkth ? — Was it not when some one had 
mistreated his friend ? — « Yes, and he be- 
haved like a frantic man in defence of this 
friend, which is proof sufficient that the sci- 
ence of physiognomy is a dream, and the 
physiognomist a dreamer." — But who is in 
an error, the physiognomist or his censurer ? 
— The wisest man may sometimes utter fol- 
ly — This the physiognomist knows, but, re- 
garding it not, reveres and pronounces him 
a wise man. — You ridicule the decision, for 
you have heard this wise man say a foolish 
thing. — Once, more, who is in an error ? — 
The physiognomist does not judge from a 
single incident, and often not from several 
combining incidents. — Nor does he, as a 
physiognomist, judge only by actions. Ho 
observes the propensities, the character, the 
essential qualities and powers, which often, 
afre apparently contradicted by individual 
actions. 



176 

Again, — He who seems stupid or vicious, 
msiy yet probably possess indications of a 
good understanding, and propensities to eve- 
ry virtue. Should the beneficent eye of the 
physiognomist, who is in search of good, 
perceive these qualities, and announce them, 
against the man, he immediately becomes 
a subject of laughter. Yet how often may 
dispositions to the most heroic virtue be there 
buried ! How often may the fire of genious 
lay deeply smothered beneath the embers ! 
—Wherefore do you so anxiously, so atten- 
tively, rake among these^ ashes ? — Because 
here is warmth — Notwithstanding that at 
the first, second, third, fourth raking, dust 
only will fly in the eyes of the physiogno- 
mist and spectator The fritter retires laugh- 
ing, relates the attempt, and nuikes others 
laugh also. The former may perhaps pati- 
ently wait and warm himself by the flame 
he has excited. Innumerable are the in- 
stances where the most excellent qualities 
are overgrown and sti9ed by the weeds of 
error. Futurity shall discover why, and the 
discovery shall not be in vain. The com- 
mon unpractised eye beholds only a desolate 
wilderness. Education, circumstances, ne- 
cessities, stifle every effort towards perfec- 
tion. The physiognomist inspects, becomes 
attentive, and waits. He sees and observes a 



179 

thousand contending contradictory qualities $ 
he hears a multitude of voices exclaiming, 
What a man! He prays, while those revile 
who cannot comprehend, or, if they can, will 
not, that in the countenance, under the form 
they view, lie concealed, beauty, power, 
wisdom, and a divine nature. 

Still further, the physiognomist, or ob- 
server of man, who is a man, a Christian, 
that is to say, a wise and good man, will a 
thousand times act contrary to his own phy- 
siognomical sensations, I do not express 
myself accurately — He appears to act con- 
trary to his internal judgment of the men. 
He speaks not all he thinks — This is an ad- 
ditional reason why the physiognomist so of- 
ten appears to err ; and wiiy the true ob- 
server, observation and truth are in him, is 
so often mistaken, and ridiculed. He reads 
the villain in the countenance of the beggar 
at his door, yet does not turn away, but 
speaks friendly to him, searches his heart, 
and discovers ; — Oh God. what does he dis- 
cover ! — An immeasureable abyss, a chaos of 
vice ! — But does he discover nothing more, 
nothing good ? — Be it granted, he finds no- 
thing good, yet he there contemplates clay 
which must not say to the potter, why hast 
thou made me thus ? He sees, prays, turns 
away his face, and hides a tear which speaks 
with eloquence inexpressible, not to man, 



180 

but to God alone. He stretches out his 
friendly hand, not only in pity to a hapless 
wife, whom he has rendered unfortunate, 
not only for the sake of his helpless inno- 
cent children, but in compassion to himself, 
for the sake of God, who has made all things, 
even the wicked themselves, for his own 
glory. He gives, perhaps, to kindle a spark 
which he yet perceives, and this is what is 
called (in scripture) giving his heart — 
Whether the unworthy man misuses the gift, 
or misuses it not, the judgment of the donor 
will alike be arraigned. Whoever hears of 
the gift will say, How has this good man 
again suffered himself to be deceived ! 

Man is not to be the judge of man, and 
who feels this truth more eoereively than 
the physiognomist ? The mightiest of men, 
the Ruler of man, came not to judge the 
world, but to save. Not that lie did not see 
the vices of the vicious, nor that he con- 
cealed them from himself or others, when 
philanthropy required they should be remark- 
ed and detected. Yet he judged not, pun- 
ished not. — He forgave — " Go thy way, sin 
no more."— Judas he received ^sone of his 
disciples, protected him, embraced him — 
Him in whom he beheld his future betray- 
er. 



DEPARTMENT III. 

An essay on the excellency of establishing Benevolent 
Institutions, for the temporal relief, and spiritual con- 
solation of the sick poor of the United States. 
Exemplified in the great utility of the " Female 
Hospitable Society," and " The Philadelphia So- 
ciety for alleviating the miseries of indigent sick per- 
sons." 

DEDICATION. 

To the above excellent Institutions, this department is 
most respectfully dedicated, with distinguished deference 
and veneration, by their humble servant, 

THE AUTHOR. 

ARGUMENTATION. 

THE matter in this department may, with 
much propriety, he divided into three sec- 
tions, viz. 1st, Argumentation ; 2d, Consola- 
tion ; and 3d, Information. In the first, the 
most conclusive reasons are suggested, to sti- 
mulate the friends of religion and humanU 
ty to established benevolent societies in the 
cities and towns where they have not been 
already established. The second contains 
consolatory strictures to sooth the sorrow of 
the unfortunate, and ameliorate the anguish, 
1 



of th£ afflicted. The third consists of infor- 
mation relative to •• The Female Hospitable 
Society/ 5 and, " The Philadelphia Society 
for alleviating the miseries of indigent Sick 
Persons ;" in order to demonstrate the su- 
per-eminent utility of such associations : so 
that he who runs may read, and he who 
reads may understand, that none but the 
merciful shall obtain mercy ; and that with 
the same measure we mete, it shall be mea- 
sured to us again* Every oian, with a par- 
ticle of common sense in his head, or com- 
mon generosity in his heart must see, in- 
deed he cannot help seeing the following 
lesson, written in the book of creation, 
namely,. Learn from mn) benevolence to you 
all, fsays the voice of providence J to be be- 
nevolent to one another. 

To such persons as are acquainted with 
the various relations in which they stand to 
Cxod and each other, and act conformably to 
this self-knowledge* the subsequent stric- 
tures will be superfluous. But if we may 
judge the human family by their relative 
conduct, how few know, much less do, the 
things enjoined by God in the books of cre- 
ation and revelation. The particular duties 
we owe to our fellow creatures, are too nu- 
merous to be mentioned here ; suffice it to 
fifty* when we neglect our duty to man, we 



183 

violate the laws of God, which are calcula- 
ted for the private and public interest of 
every person, and designed to promote our 
future, as well as present happiness. Does 
ht3 command us to love our neighbours, to 
be merciful to them, and to do by them as 
we would wish to be done by ? — Without 
any manner of doubt. And to obey this 
command is tantamount to participating the 
most exquisite terrestrial bliss. When he 
commands us to love him, with all our soul, 
mind and strength, it is the same as if he 
should tell us to anticipate the joy of angels 
and their supreme beatitude. Indeed, no 
other love is worthy of him, he looks at the 
seat of the affections, and accepts nothing but 
what comes from thence. Man may deceive 
man with artificial love, but he never can 
deceive God. 

I am well aware that many, even of the 
professors of religion, as well as the sons of 
dissipation, will shut their eyes, and steel 
their hearts against my reasoning and soli- 
citation, and will even 

u Laugh at the drop on misery's languid eye, 
And see her bursting heart without a sigh." 

They will not remember, that they them. 
selves may, in following years, be as indi- 
gent and wretched as the poor unhappy pc*- 



184 

sons whose £ause I am pleading. How of- 
ten have I beheld with just indignation, per- 
sons who rank high in society for religion 
and respectability, reasoning away the little 
compassion they possessed, by calling to 
their aid (I had almost said that pitiful vir- 
tue) prudence — I lose all equanimity, 
when I recollect the instances of inhumanity 
I have witnessed among the professors of 
religion in this city. Is he a man or a mon- 
ster ? is he a Christian or a brute ? who can 
behold with dry eyes and an adamantine 
heart, the weeping orphan, and disconsolate 
widow, whose half covered limbs are shi- 
vering with cold, whose famished looks 
(which tally to the word starvation,) would 
cause a midnight robber's heart to weep 
tears of blood. Reader, view with your in- 
tellectual eyes, the train of decrepit objects 
approaching with solemn step, and slow ! — 
« The Female Hospitable Society," their 
limbs half covered with tattered garments, 
and emaciated by disease j see that poor old 
man with silver locks, propped on his staff, 
quivering as he goes ; listen to his petition, 
from the feeble tongue of age ; he was once 
as happy, and rich as you, but, & ah ! the 
cruel spoiler came." Look in his furrowed 
face, and you will see that his spirit is bro- 
en and he is sinking with accumulated and 



185 

complicated sorrow to the grave. Reader, 
will you do me the justice to believe me, 
when I declare to you, that " The Female 
Hospitable Society," have this winter (1809 
. — 10,) four hundred real objects of charity to 
whom they endeavour to administer pecuni- 
ary and spiritual relief. Do not, I beseech 
you, use the mean, pitiful reflection, that 
their misery is the offspring of their own 
imprudence ! away with such paltry sub* 
terfuges, and obey the first impulse of your 
melting heart, which begins to move your 
hand and direct it to your purse* Obey the 
sacred impulse, and send instantly, before 
your heart cools, 20 — 1 0^-5, or even one 
dollar, to the aforesaid Female Hospitable 
Society ; and at the same time thank God 
for giving you the disposition, and the opr 
portunity to lay up your treasure in heaven. 
Do not, I conjure you, draw your hand out 
of your purse empty, from the consideration 
that the objects are not deserving your no- 
tice or relief. Think for a moment, if God 
acted in the same manner by you, in giving 
yon nothing but what you deserved, where 
would you be in one moment ? I answer, in 
hell, lifting up your hopeless eyes, and beg- 
ging for a drop of water to cool your parched 
tongue. Read the parable of the rich man 
and Lazarus, and it will instantly hush into 
q, 2 



186 

eternal silence, your doubts relative to the 
deserts of the poor, and " you'll quite forget 
their vices in their woe." Those who know 
their own defects, are always ready to make 
allowance for the defects of others. But 
alas ! self ignorance will often hide, or ex- 
cuse, or palliate our own faults, and magni- 
fy and accuse those of our neighbours. — 
Were we to examine our conduct by the 
light of divine truth, we would find enough 
to despise and censure at home, and we 
would learn to spare the feelings of the 
poor, and not suffuse the supplicating coun- 
tenance of the unfortunate, with confusion 
and grief, which I am sorry to say is too 
often done. Were we properly impressed 
fajfth a sense of our duty as christians, we 
would not require entreaties, solicitations, 
ajid remonstrances, to stimulate us to per- 
form the duties of philanthropy. The re- 
collection of God's kindness to us all, should 
incline us to be kind to each other ; more 
especially in the time of affliction. Nothing 
in my humble opinion, is more hateful and 
detestable in the sight of our merciful God, 
than to see a rich man hoarding up in his 
coffers, the eyes of the blind, the feet of the 
lame, the health of the sick and decrepit ; 
while at the same time, he daily sees pass- 
ing and re-passing, those poor objects of 



187 

misfortune and affliction, whom God has 
put it in his power to relieve and comfort; 
but, alas ! instead of opening his coffers, and 
bestowing some? of that which would be 
eyes to the blind, feet to the lame, and health 
to the sick and decrepit, he shuts up his 
bowels of compassion against them, and 
eventually locks up his heart with his mo- 
ney, in his strong box. If my limits would 
allow it, I could prove by stubborn facts, 
that God, in just indignation, often gives 
such penurious wretches, their reward, even 
in this life. Many, very many of them are 
so deluded by avarice, that they will not al- 
low themselves even the necessaries of life. 
Not a few of them commit suicide, least they 
should come to poverty ; though in the un- 
controlled possession of thousands of dol- 
lars. Others reserve their riches for their 
degenerate sons ; who work out their own 
destruction, ruin their constitutions, charac- 
ters, and souls, through the instrumentality 
of the money their penurious parents hoard- 
ed up for them. Surely the spider in the 
miser's strong box, the traveller who views 
the lording's domains, the beggar who be- 
holds the jewels with which the monarch's 
royal diadem is studded, enjoy these bau- 
bles, when their imperious owners are the 
food of worms, and the victims of putrcfac- 



188 

tion. At any rate, the miser can but view 
and admire his money, the lord of the ma- 
nor his rich domains, the monarch his royal 
appendages ; and the spider, the traveller, 
and the beggar can do the same. But when 
the great men, the mighty men, and the 
rich men act the part of good stewards, with 
the property the God of nature has entrust- 
ed them with, they gain the most supreme 
and superlative pleasure here, and lay up 
treasure at the right hand of God, which 
will be ready for their enjoyment, when 
they are taken from their earthly riches. 

Permit me now, with much deference, to 
entreat and implore my wealthy readers, in 
favour of the distressed objects of my soli- 
citude. How shall I move your compas- 
sion ? Methinks, had I the opportunity of 
pleading in your presence, the cause of the 
afflicted, I could more pathetically depic- 
ture their miseries, and plead for them with 
tears that I would more than speak. The 
distresses of the poor, these distressing 
times, especially this winter, are greater 
than has ever been experienced, or than I 
have language to express; many virtuous 
citizens, with their families, who some 
years ago were comfortably, and commodi- 
ously situated, 
While peace and plenty crown'd their cheerful boards 



189 

now, alas ! are reduced to absolute want. 
x\nd what enhances their wretchedness, is 
this : being possessed of susceptible imagi- 
nations, " they cannot dig ; and to beg they 
are ashamed." What can they do? No 
employment can they procure, and conse- 
quently no resources ; for when the wheels 
of commerce stop, ten thousand hands are 
immediately inactive, on which the support 
of helpless families depend. Their weep- 
ing infants with out-stretched arms, cling to 
their parent's breasts, and with plaintive 
voice and eloquence of eyes, they ask, but 
they ask in vain for bread. The busy neigh- 
bours, thoughtless of their wants, scarce 
know, or want to know, the suffering ten- 
ants of the adjoining house. The industri- 
ous father, conscious of this sad reverse of 
fortune, with whose veering gale false 
friendship* flies away; petrified to see the 
approach of penury and rags, his very heart 
weeps blood, and anguish rends his breast ; 
wherever he looks, a horrid gloom strikes 
his eyes, while his bosom is transfixed with 
unutterable agony ; but, alas ! an ill-timed 
delicacy, prevails upon him to conceal his 

* " And what is friendship but a name, 

A charm that lulls to sleep, 
A shade that follows wealth or fame, 

But leaves the wretch to weep." 



190 

"wants. He views the sons of dissipation? 
and the daughters of folly, cloyed with the 
abundance of that which his hapless children 
perish for the want of j and which- they 
squander and dissipate on vanity and venal- 
ity. For it is a well known fact, that the 
trimmings of the rich would cover the na- 
kedness of the children of the poor, and their 
offals plentifully supply their lack of food. 
He could with fortitude endure for his 
own part the bereavement of all earthly com- 
forts ; but to see a beloved wife, sick upon 
a bed of straw, with her starving children 
around her, at home, and at the same time 
to look abroad and see nothing but a frown- 
ing world, ungrateful friends, and the sons 
of pride new gilding their coaches, before 
they would give one dollar to save him and 
his family from starvation. The dreadful 
contemplation is more than he can bear : he 
seeks refuge in suicide, and dies. His weep- 
ing, starving children sicken.— Reader, thou 
canst not endure the picture of their death. 

" Ye that have passions for a tear, 
Give nature vent, and drop it here." 

This is a dreadful description, but it is 
as true* as it is tragical ; such distressing 

* One morning after a most violent snow storm, I 
went in pursuit of objects of distress ; and was direct- 



191 

scenes may often be witnessed in real life, 
while many, even of the professors of reli- 
ed to the habitation of an ancient woman and her daugh- 
ter; the house was in ruins, without even a single pane 
of glass, and all the furniture a few pieces of earthen 
ware. In one corner of the room, the old woman about 
80 years of age, her daughter and another woman were 
huddled on some straw, with no covering but a piece 
of an old carpet, which was sprinkled with snow as 
well as the room in general. Notwithstanding the 
gloomy aspect of suffering humanity, the above picture 
exhibits, which is as true as it is tragical, it is but a 
small miniature exhibition of what the amiable and truly 
benevolent ladies which compose the " Female Hos- 
pitable Society," witness in magnitude, in their philan- 
thropic excursions, while alleviating the miseries of the 
sons and daughters of misfortune. Our journey through 
life is chequered with disappointments. Many who were 
on the top of the wheel of fortune, a few years ago, are 
now down on its opposite extreme. I could point to one 
in particular, who was worth 80,000 dollars some few 
years ago, and now he is glad to be relieved by the hand 
of charity. Since this is the case, should not the rich re- 
member the sighing of the poor. 

When the storms of adversity, gather and burst over 
the families of rich men as well as poor; when sickness 
seizes and medicine fails them, how consoling must it be 
to them, to behold these fair philanthropists, with the big 
round tear of sensibility glittering in their eye, more pre- 
cious than the brilliant diamond of Golconda ; stepping 
to their relief, while under the pressure of their misfor- 
tunes ; alleviating the burden of. their sorrows, mitigating 
their bodily pain, calming the tumult of their souls, and 
illuminating the dreary prospects of futurity, with the 
rays of heavenly consolation. 



193 

gion, are as insensible and regardless of 
thein, as the devil himself. 

" Could I reveal the sources of their grief, 
If soft humanity e'er touched your breast, 

Your hands would not withhold the kind relief, 
And tears of pity would not be repress." 

Reader, think how many this very mo- 
ment realize the miseries I have depicted, 
which seem too horrible to be authentic, too 
romantic to be real. Ah ! then pity their 
sorrows, and contribute something to their 
relief, through the medium of the antecedent 
benevolent societies, — the smallest contribu- 
tions will be gladly received. The govern- 
ess of the « Female Hospitable Society" will 
accept old clothes, damaged cloth, provisions, 
or any thing that can be rendered useful to 
the poor ; and use her utmost endeavours, in 
conjunction with the members in general, to 
render them as useful and beneficial to the 
objects of their commisseration, as the na- 
ture of the contributions will admit. As the 
female stranger is also a particular object of 
their solicitude, those who are acquainted 
with such strangers, are earnestly entreated 
to advise, and recommend them without de- 
lay, to call upon the governess* of the Fe~ 

* Mrs. Snyder, Market, above Seventh-street. 



193 

male Hospitable Society, for information and 
relief, if it is needed. Those who have the 
least knowledge of the many innocent coun- 
try girls who have arrived in this city, and 
have been prematurely ruined for the want 
0f information in this respect, will at once 
see the great utility of such a society. 

Alas ! little do we think what mountains 
ef misery there are in the world, which even 
the tragic muse can scarce delineate. 

** Ah, little think the gay licentious proud 
When pleasure, pow'r, and affluence surround ; 
They who their thoughtless hours in giddy mirth 
And wanton, often cruel riot, waste ; 
Ah little think they while they dance along, 
How many feel, this very moment, death, 
And all the sad variety of pain. 
How many sink in the devouring flood 
Or more devouring flame. How many bleed, 
By shameful varience between man and man, 
How many pine in want, and duwgeon glooms, 
Shut from the common air; and common use, 
Of their own limbs- How many drink the cup 
Of baleful grief, or eat the bitter bread 
Of misery. Sore pierc'd by wintry winds, 
How many shrink into the sordid hut 
Of cheerless poverty. How many shake 
With all the fiercer tortures of the mind, 
Unbounded passion, madness, guilt, remorse ; 
How many rack'd, with honest passions, drop 
In deep retired distress. How many stand 
Around the death. bed of their dearest friends, 
And point the parting anguish. Thought fond man 
Of these and all the thousand nameless ills, 
R 



494 

That one incessant, struggle render life, 
One scene of toil, of sufferings, and of fate, 
Vice in his high career would stand appall'd, 
And heedless rambling impulse learn to think ; 
The conscious heart of charity would warm, 
And her wide wish benevolence dilate ; 
The social tear would rise, the social sigh ; 
And into clear perfection, gradual bliss. 
Refining still, the social passions work." 

Of all the adorable attributes connected 
and concomitant with the divine character,, 
none shines more transcendently glorious, 
superlatively estimable, and supereminently 
amiable, than the attribute of MERCY. 
What angel can express? what mortal can 
conceive the magnitude and universality of 
this super-celestial attribute ? It is like eter- 
nity,' without end ; or immensity, without 
bounds. When we for a moment view with 
our intellectual eyes, the infinitude of Di- 
vine mercy, we are dazzled with the re- 
splendent sight, it mocks even angelic con- 
ception. A sense of his mercy, emboldens 
the humble penitent to look up to his hea- 
venly Father, and hope for happiness in an- 
other and better world. This is his sheet- 
anchor, his riches, his heaven. But our bu- 
siness here, is to consider mercy as it forms 
a link in the chain of duties between man 
and man ; there is no duty more powerfully 
and repeatedly inculcated in the sacred scrip- 



195 

hires than mercy. I will go farther, and 
boldly assert, there is no crime against which 
more signal vengeance is denounced than 
cruelty, which is the antipode of mercy. 

We need not refer to the maledictions in 
the Bihle against the want of mercy. The 
voice of God in the creation, and in our 
own hearts, will abundantly demonstrate the 
truth of that important passage in the gos- 
pel, " Blessed are the merciful, for they 
shall obtain mercy :" and that beautiful and 
awful parable of the unfeeling servant, will 
shew the propriety of reversing the above 
quotation, thus, « Cursed are the cruel, for 
they shall not obtain mercy." 

Is it not astonishing that the world should 
he filled with cruelly, violence, innocent 
blood, mountains of human carnage ! and in 
short, be made a slaughter-house by man, 
who depends upon the mercy of God for 
the air he breathes, the bread he eats, the 
water he drinks, the clothes he wears, and 
every accommodation he enjoys. Sure I 
am, the unmerciful man is his own execu- 
tioner, he annihilates both his intellectual 
and corporeal happiness; for the human 
mind is so constituted, that the tyrant is 
eternally punished by his own vicious cru- 
elty, which corrodes the finer feelings, and 
will even eat out every germ of tranquillity. 



190 

But on the other hand, the practice of bene- 
volence produces in the mind the most ex- 
quisitely pleasurable sensations, infinitely 
superior to sensual gratifications ; it illumi- 
nates the soul with the reconciled smiles of 
the divine Majesty, as well as the sacred 
sunshine of an approving conscience. — 
Wherefore, O reader, if thou wouldst par- 
ticipate in the transports of the heavenly 
host, be merciful to every living creature, 
animal as well as human ; and if thou de- 
sirest to anticipate the miseries of the 
damned in hell, only be cruel, unfeeling- 
unmerciful. In short, to bring the argu- 
ment to a focus, mercy is the offspring of 
Heaven, but cruelty the most horrible in- 
mate of hell. 

** The quality of mercy is not strain 'd, 
1$ droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven, 
Upon the plant beneath It is twice blessed, 
It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes. 5 * 

Thus, where true mercy reigns in the 
heart, it will be evidenced by correspond- 
ing works of benevolence. Tender mercy, 
without benevolent actions, is as impossible 
as the sun to shine without giving light. 

The most effectual way to find happiness 
for ourselves, is, by first endeavouring to 
promote it in others. And even to do good 



197 

by stealth, is to render our reward more ex- 
quisitely sweet and transcendently glorious, 
as this would be imitating the munificent 
Creator, by concealing the benefactor, and 
shewing the benefit. This would be doing 
a generous deed in a generous way, by spa- 
ring the feelings of the unfortunate, who too 
often are intellectually wounded, while the 
hand of charity, with pompous parade, is 
extended to relieve their corporeal wants. 
Would the sons of avarice relinquish their 
golden god, and become the votaries of be- 
nevolence, they would soon regain tranquil- 
lity, and enjoy real peace. Then they would 
contemplate the folly, infatuation, and ab- 
surdity of their antecedent pursuits, and like 
a sailor recently snatched from a watery 
grave, and seated upon a rock, contemplates 
the imminent danger he escaped, and is rea- 
dy to stretch his hands to any of his com- 
rades who may approach the rock whereon 
he is seated, so w ill they embrace every op- 
portunity to snatch from impending ruin, 
the infatuated votaries of avarice and sen- 
suality. 

Would men forego the luxuries, and con- 
tent themselves with the necessaries of life, 
we would not see half so much human 
Avretchedness in the world. The rich spend 
the wealth God entrusted them with for be- 
R2 



198 

nevolent purposes, on the most foolish, fri- 
volous, and often the most destructive tri* 
fies, without ever making any reservation 
for God and his poor. And while they 
thus rob the poor of their mite, they rob 
themselves also of their happiness. For it 
is one of the regulations of that universal 
justice that governs the world, that excess 
shall be its own tormentor. The few, mo-, 
nopolize the wealth of the many, either by 
force or fraud ; consequently one part are 
cloyed by abundance, and of course can- 
not enjoy it, while the other are destitute of 
the necessaries of life, and of course suffer 
for want of it. The rich cannot enjoy plea* 
sure, because the attainment of it cost them 
no trouble ; they never can enjoy what they 
possess, because they are always coveting 
more, and dissatisfied with what they have. 

Their wealth robs them of real pleasure — because, 
They are always outrunning their necessities : 

of course disgust follows satiety, and debi- 
lity follows disgust. The perfume of a thou- 
sand roses delights for the moment, but the 
thorn inflicts a pain which will last for hours, 
The sting of the bee is more painful than 
the taste of the honey is sweet. Thus this 
satiety and debility, preduced by riches, 
gives more pain than its sweet gives plea- 



199 

sure j and the rich by spending their wealth 
in vanity, not only rob the poor, but anni- 
hilate their own present and eternal hap- 
piness : which consists in mediocrity and be- 
nevolence. Yes, beneficence is the happi- 
ness of virtue, and no happiness on earth 
can be more certain, more secure, or more 
sacred; because if death calls the benevo- 
lent man, this felicity accompanies him to 
£he celestial paradise, where it will be en- 
hanced a tlrousand fold. But admitting, for 
the sake of illustration, that the rich man 
«an enjoy real pleasure here, yet as life is 
uncertain, surely he must live in constant 
jeopardy ; because he is in constant expec- 
tation of being robbed of all his riches and 
happiness. Scarcely has the rich man heap- 
ed up his gold together, when death escorts 
him to the bar of God, to give an account 
of his stewardship. Then whose shall the 
riches be, for which a soul was bartered and 
eternal happiness relinquished. 

Does not God, as a just punishment, send 
rich men strong delusions, that they may 
believe a lie, and as they will not use their 
abundant riches for his glory and the good 
of his poor, are they not often so infatuated 
as to starve themselves in the midst of abun- 
dance. I know a man of property who goes 



200 

like a beggar, and lives upon carrion, &e. yet 
be has no family. I could point to the place, 
and mention the time when another penuri- 
ous person, killed himself to avoid coming 
to poverty ; yet he died worth eighty thou- 
sand dollars, and had no family. Like the 
budding flower that keeps all its beauties 
concealed, and all its sweets locked up, are 
such niggardly wretches, whose aims are all 
turned inward, whose private interest is the 
centre of their designs, and the circumfer- 
ence of their actions. Thus, while some 
hoard up their wealth in iron chests, and 
like the dog in the manger will neither en- 
joy it themselves, nor let those in need par- 
take of it, others with their riches, are sacri- 
ficing their health and reputation, corrupting 
their children, contaminating their neigh- 
bours, and shipwrecking their own souls, in 
their jovial bowls. 

Notwithstanding the conviction I feel, 
that many of the aforesaid characters will 
view my arguments with the paralizing 
frown of neglect; yet I am encouraged with 
the confidence, that my labour of love will 
not be altogether in vain, but that some be- 
nevolent persons will view them with the 
eye of candour; and will both commisserate 
and mitigate the miseries of the poor, by 



201 

organizing societies 5 * similar to the ones we 
are eulogizing. Then shall the blessings of 
the poor, and the approving smiles of hea- 
ven repay their liberality. 

Too many ministers of the gospel adopt 
a line of conduct diametrically opposite to 
that of their Lord and master. He loved to 
visit and relieve the poor, but they love to 
neglect the poor, and visit and fawn upon 
the rich. The pious poor man is neglected 
through life, and forgotten when dead, by 
the Reverend and Right Reverend clergy j 

* I am happy in having it in my power to say, my la- 
bour has not been in vain. In Trenton, Philadelphia, 
and New-York, I know of five such societies being es- 
tablished, to one of which I myself am united; and can 
truly testify, that I have reaped more real spiritual bene- 
fit by visiting, relieving, and endeavouring to comfort 
the sick poor, than in any other means of grace. This 
makes me so earnest in soliciting the co-operation of the 
friends of religion, in all denominations. Was it in my 
power, I would exhibit to them individually and person- 
ally, by the most cogent argumentation, the great bless- 
edness which would redound to them, as well as the 
children of affliction, if they would associate, in the dif- 
ferent cities and sea port towns in the United Stares, for 
so laudable a purpose: and if that would not suffice, I 
would on my bended knees implore them, with tears 
which would more than speak, to learn from God's 
pity to them, to relieve and comfort the miserable, 
who have no human eye to pity, or hand to help them ; 
that they might participate the happiness of benevo- 
lence. 



30© 

but not so with the rich, in their sickness 
they are exhibited to our view as noble suf- 
ferers, as patterns of patience : and when 
dead, they are attended with distinguished 
grandeur, pomp, and parade, to the grave : 
'while the interested poet, and fawning par- 
son extol them to the skks, and land their 
souls in heaven, in short, parsons as well 
as poets, too often by their conduct verify 
the old adage, viz. « money makes the mare 
go." ye ungodly and avaricious parsons ! 
how can you answer to God, and your own 
consciences, for your great imposition, in 
greedily seeking the fleece, While'" the de- 
vil may take the flock," for what you care ? 
You now solace yourselves hi plenty, but 
the dreadful day of retribution is at hand. 

I appeal to the reader's common sense, 
and common candour (whether a christian 
or philosophical unbeliever) for a confirma- 
tion of the truth and force of my argumen- 
tation. His conscience, I am persuaded, is 
in unison with the unerring prophet; expe- 
rience whispers in reason's ear, that my 
assertions are true. If it is allowed that 
rich men are merely God's stewards in this 
world, I will contend that e\QTj wealthy 
man that hoards up his money, or spends it 
on vanity or sensuality, is a thief and a rob- 
ber, because he robs God and the poor; but 



203 

if they are independent of God, this argiir 
inent falls to the ground. I know a man, 
whose service of gold and silver plate, 
amounts to 40,000 dollars, and do you sup- 
pose that he is happy, because he is so rich; 
he is, I am persuaded, farther from it/than 
the most indigent wretch. With what so- 
vereign contempt, mingled with pity, must 
God and every benevolent man view this 
rich booby, seated in his palace ; refusing 
his indigent fellow travellers to the grave 
the crumbs that fall from his table, or the 
offals which his dogs refuse to eat. " How 
dreadful must thy summons be, Oh Death?" 
to such an unfeeling soul as this ! The pride 
which springs spontaneously from this man's 
opulence, blinds his intellectual eyes and 
hardens his heart, of course the least loss, 
cross, or privation wounds him; while the 
greatest enjoyments cease to please. He 
will not let experience teach him, that the 
enjoyments of repose must he purchased by 
fatigue, eating by hunger, drinking by thirst, 
and so on with every other enjoyment. Even 
if we wish to be beloved we must love ; in 
short, real happiness is only to be obtained 
by benevolent privations and sacrifices: and 
this will rive a relish to each enjoyment. — 
Every rich man possessed of a grain of com- 
mon sense, must allow these to be stubborn 



204 

facts : yet where will we find one who 
makes any sacrifice, or suffers the least pri- 
vation for the sake of relieving his poor 
brother? Yet no doubt they expect to go to 
heaven, which is to expect, that the awful 
Judge on the day of final retribution, will 
tell a palpable lie to save them, which he 
must ,do if he applies the exhilarating invi- 
tation, « Come ye blessed, &c." to th$n>. 



CONSOLATION. 

WITH the most respectful solicitude, as 
well as social and sympathetic emotion, do I 
now attempt to approach the bed of pain and 
poverty, sickness and sorrow, with words of 
consolation. But where shall I find conso- 
latory words, calculated to sooth the sor- 
rows and calm the fears of the afflicted ? 
Where under the broad canopy of heaven 
can we find words more soothing, sympa- 
thetic, and sublime, than were addressed by 
our compassionate Redeemer to the despond- 
ing child of poverty? " Behold," says he, 
(while the music of his voice was more me- 
lodious than the songs of angels :) « Behold 
the fowls of the air, they sow not, neither 



205 

do they gather into barns, and yet your 
heavenly Father feedeth them." 

In order to elucidate this inimitable pas- 
sage, it will be necessary to view the leaf- 
less grove, the whitened plain, and each 
murmuring brook bound in icy fetters, 
while the chilling winds of winter howl o'er 
the groves, and whistle through the snow 
topped trees. Then the voice of pity is 
heard to say, where now will the unshelter- 
ed inhabitant of the leafless grove find nou- 
rishment ? The voice of truth answers the 
doubtful interrogation : ** Your heavenly 
Father feedeth them." And will he not 
also provide for you, Oh ! ye children of 
misfortune ? ye of little faith. Lift then your 
eyes in hope to the Father of mercy ; re- 
member you cannot dishonour him more, 
than by doubting his goodness, nor honour 
him more than by believing and receiving 
by faith from the plentitude of his liberality, 
every good and perfect gift ; « Consider the 
lilies, they toil not, neither do they spin, yet 
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed 
like one of those. " And does God so clothe 
the grass and feed the birds, and will he not 
mueh more clothe and feed you, Oh chil- 
dren of despondency. The Almighty has 
his wise ends in afflicting with sickness and 
poverty his rational offspring j and, is it not 



206 

to shew us that we should never place our 
bliss in any thing here below ? Address 
yourselves therefore, to him, my despond- 
ing fellow mortals; kiss the rod, and you 
will find it mingled with honey ; love and 
adore the hand that holds it, for it fe your 
Redeemer's hand, the good physician of 
your sin-sick souls. He dispenses life and 
health for your benefit ; he makes trial of 
your virtue to day, only in order to recom- 
pense you to-morrow ; consider that the 
chief end of our being placed here, is to 
practice virtue ; this is our probationary 
state, preparatory to an eternal existence : 
here God tries us, proves us, and ascertains 
who is susceptible of gratitude, who loves 
him with the pure love of choice ; as any 
other love would be hypocrisy, and unwor- 
thy of him. He never did, he never will force 
men to love him. Yet, notwithstanding the 
force of this truth, I fear there would be little 
of the love of God in the world, if th6 devil 
was dead and hell extinguished. Do you ad- 
mire beauty ? he is the sum total of beauty ; 
he is the genuine essence of goodness : great 
in goodness and good in greatness. Do you 
venerate power and majesty ? he is the 
source of power and majesty : supreme in 
might, in majesty sublime. Have you a la- 
tent spark of filial or fraternal affectidh ? 



207 

then place it upon him, for he is nearer to 
you than father or mother, sister or bro- 
ther. 

Nothing most assuredly, but the ingrati- 
tude of men could make them deny a good- 
ness, beauty, majesty, and justice, which 
they cannot contemplate without terror. 
The glory of his majesty is as prominently 
exhibited to our intellectual view, as his 
works are before our bodily eyes. If ye 
love, venerate, and depend upon him, can 
you suppose he will leave you without a re- 
compense, ye sons and daughters of misfor- 
tune ? it is impossible ! Can you believe a 
power which clothes souls so noble, and bo- 
dies so beautiful, is not both able and will- 
ing to save you from the waves of trouble, 
which break upon your defenceless head. 
He who has made ample arrangements for 
the happiness of his servants, by the most 
immutable laws ; think ye he will forsake 
them in the hour of tribulation ? ** the mo- 
ther may forsake her sucking child, but I 
will never forsake you," says God, both by 
precept and practice. There is without 
doubt a place where virtue meets its reward, 
and vice its punishment. Support then my 
afflicted friends, your trials with content- 
ment and composure. Receive the cup of 
affliction from the hand of Frovidence, as 



you would a healing medicine from tlie 
hand of your physician ; because both are 
equally intended for your good. Oh ! do, 
I most earnestly beseech you, elevate your 
souls towards an eternity of happiness, in 
order that you may be enabled to support 
the miseries of a moment. Think how ma- 
ny are now enduring far more misery than 
you ; it is believed that every minute at 
least sixty souls are launched into eternity, 
and we shall soon follow them ; let us then 
live as we shall wish we had done when we 
are launched from the womb of time, to see 
the golden light of eternity. 

Those that he loves most he chastens, be- 
cause he well knoweth that in the school of 
adversity the most excellent virtue buds, 
blossoms, and ripens ; for his glory and our 
good. 

Misfortune eclipses the delusive splendor 
of this world, sickness draws a veil over the 
volatility of our hearts, poverty loosens the 
fetters by w T hich our affections are bound 
down to earth, and hindered from ascending 
up to heaven : and vice, that painted strum- 
pet, loses all her alluring charms, and ap- 
pears in her native colours, the infernal hag 
and offspring of hell. While virtue, like 
the moon shining through some intervening 
cloud, disperses the sable shades with more 



209 

than mortal charms. May these friendly 
and familiar strictures reconcile you, Oh ! 
ye sons of sorrow, to the portion of whole- 
some medicine, prescribed by your heavenly 
physician; may your outward sufferings 
dissipate your inward darkness. Then wel- 
come sickness ! welcome poverty, welcome 
what our stubborn hearts would call adver- 
sity, welcome ye light afflictions, which will 
work out for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory. But before I con- 
clude, I would wish particularly to inculcate 
the necessity of repentance, reformation, 
regeneration, &c. The lip of Truth, has po- 
sitively declared, " unless ye are converted 
ye can in no wise enter the kingdom of hea- 
ven/' and, " unless ye repent, ye shall all 
likewise perish," "without holiness no man 
shall see the Lord." Nothing can calm your 
fear and remove the apprehension of divine 
wrath, and draw the curtains of sorrow from 
around your sick beds, and make death 
smile, so effectually, as repentance towards 
God and faith in Christ. Hang upon the 
expiatory sacrifice ; then will the Saviour- s 
righteousness be sweet as myrrh and frank- 
incense, and powerful as an army with ban- 
ners. Then will your own self-righteousness 
appear as filthy rags ; then will you say, and 
feel as well as say (after you have done all 
s % 



210, 

that is commanded,) ff we are unprofitable 
servants." Then shall you see that if you 
are heaven born and heaven bound, and are 
ingrafted into the true vine, you will as na- 
turally bring forth the fruit of benevolence, 
as a good vine will produce good grapes ; and 
if you are not benevolent, but penurious, it 
is a certain proof, that you are unconverted : 
but if you love God and man sincerely, and 
act accordingly, this is a proof that you are 
born again. 

" Which done, the poorest can n/> want endure, 
And which not done, the richest must be poor." 



INFORMATION. 

WE are now to inform the candid read- 
er, of the great utility of benevolent associ- 
ations. But as our limits are circumscribed, 
we can but briefly depict the outlines of a few 
of them. I am sorry to say, that some cha- 
ritable societies are only such in name, not 
in deed, they soon get weary in well do- 
ing : and indeed some have for the want of 
common charity, not only relinquished the 
practice of benevolence, but even the name, 
by annihilating their associations. The con- 
trast between these degenerate societies, 



211 

(whose names delicacy forbids me to men 
tion) and " The Female Hospitable Socie- 
ty ;" makes the latter so amiable and admi- 
rable, in my estimation They commenced 
their labour of love in weakness ; # and 
though opposed by great men, and rich 
men ; they accumulated strength, and have 
to this day continued to increase, and not di- 

* It was said by a heathen philosopher, that the most 
admirable object to be seen in the world, was " a good 
man struggling with adversity, and proving superior to 
it." But I will contend, that it is a more estimable, 
amiable, as well as pleasurable sight, to behold a num- 
ber of benevolent ladies, approaching the poor man's 
sick and sorrowful bed. But here 1 must stop, for I 
cannot find language sufficiently sonorous to express 
the benefit the «■ Female Hospitable Society," are to such 
objects. 

Note to the second edition. A respectable and pious 
lady, who had seen my " Beauties of Philanthropy," 
(wherein I most earnestly recommended the establish* 
ment of societies for the spiritual and temporal relief of 
the children of affliction,) sent for me, and requested me 
to prepare a Constitution for such a charitable institution 
as I recommended in that work ; which I accordingly 
did, and read it to a company of about 40 ladies ; who 
unanimously approved the same, and had it printed ; 
since which they have been a blessing to thousands of 
wretched families. From 40, their number has increased 
to 500. This winter, (1811—1812) they have relieved 
5 or 600 poor families, temporally and medically, as well 
as spiritually. May the Lord reward them for their 
super-eminent philanthropy ! 



212 

minisli their celestial employment : yes, ce- 
lestial spirits would no doubt, delight to par- 
ticipate with them in their labour of love. 
And the Almighty, according to his uniform 
mode of procedure, has not only abundant- 
ly blessed their endeavours for the spiritual 
relief of the poor, but he has also greatly 
blessed the souls of a number of the young 
ladies who visited them. Many who pre- 
vious to their joining this society, were vo- 
latile, are now serious, were penetential 
mourners, are now rejoicing in the convert- 
ing love of God ; and some of them, whose 
names I need not mention, have died hap- 
py and triumphant deaths. Is not this suf- 
ficient encouragement to induce others to 
join this society ; that they may partake of 
the same blessings in life, and in death. I 
have this information from the most respec- 
table source ; it may therefore be depended 
upon. 

The late governess informed me, that a 
considerable number of unfortunate and af- 
flicted persons, w 7 ere not only relieved tempo- 
rally, but also comforted spiritually, by this 
society : and many who before were igno- 
rant and abandoned characters, are orderly 
enlightened, and religious persons ; and that 
eight died happy in the Lord, who, previ- 



213 

ous to their being visited, were ignorant of 
him and themselves. 

When this society Was organized, its 
number was about 40, it is now increased 
to upwards of 200. The number of fami- 
lies they relieved in the winter of 1808 — 9, 
was about 200 ; and they expended upwards 
of 600 dollars. In the winter of 1809—10, 
they relieved about 400 families, and ex- 
pended at least 1200 dolls. They fed the 
hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick, 
and provided beds for some who had none. 
They employ the healthy poor, in spinning 
yarn j these receive large wages for their 
work, and the product is disposed of to the 
best advantage. 

I here beg leave to suggest, that in as 
much as there are many poor women who 
cannot spin, but are willing to work at what 
they are able to do, it would be proper to 
employ them at what they can perform ; such 
as, making segars, knitting, making gar- 
ments, binding shoes, &c. 

I merely suggest this thought, that it may 
stimulate the above society, to invent some 
more extensive plan for alleviating the dis- 
tresses of the poor. The society employed 
46 poor w T omen in spinning llax and cotton. 
They have 300 weight of yarn on hand, ex- 
clusive of a large quantity sold; and they 



214/ 

are making arrangements to have it wove 
for the benefit of the society. 

« The Philadelphia Society, for alleviat- 
ing the miseries of Indigent Sick -persons/* 
still continue to visit the sick every sabbath, 
relieving them temporally and spiritually. 
They have done much good. Many poor 
afflicted persons have been blessed, through 
their instrumentality. The Rev. Dr. Staugh- 
ton has recently preached a charity sermon, 
for the support of the society, when 104 dol- 
lars was collected. May the Lord reward 
him, and all those who encourage so excel- 
lent a charity ! 

We will here transcribe a few of the rules 
and the address of « The Female Hospitable 
Society/ 5 that the reader may ascertain the 
universality, as well as the disinterestedness 
of their charity. 

This institution is entitled, The Female Hospitable Society: 
Instituted for the Relief and Instruction of Sick and In* 
dige?it Widows and Orphans in particular, and Female 
Strangers in general. Established in Philadelphia^ 
A. JD— -1808. 

ADDRESS TO THE FRIENDS OF HUMANITY* 

It is a true, as well as a tragical saying, 
« That one half of the world does not know 
how the other half suffers. 5 ' We need not 
look across the Atlantic ocean to the fierce 



215 

contending nations of Europe, to behold in- 
numerable objects of wretchedness to excite 
our warmest commisseration. In our own 
country, and even within the confines of the 
city and suburbs of Philadelphia, many, 
very many, poor distressed persons, have 

••No eye to mark their sufferings, with a tear, 

u No friend to comfort them, nor hope to cheer.'* 

Their disconsolate situation is more easily 
conceived than expressed. As we are plac- 
ed in a troublesome world, and live in a 
troublesome period of that world, is it not 
the indispensible duty, of at least religious 
and benevolent persons, to make it as easy 
as possible to their distressed fellow-crea- 
tures ? Those persons, therefore, who may 
happily have this performance to peruse, are 
most earnestly entreated in favour of the sub- 
sequent, excellent charity. A few benevo- 
lent females, actuated by the most disin- 
terested philanthropy, have associated to- 
gether, for the laudable purpose of relieving 
the indigent of their own sex. 

They will thankfully receive the smallest 
contributions. Any old clothes, unsaleable 
cloth, shoes or provisions, will be gladly ac- 
cepted, and immediately prepared for the 
use of the most needy objects of their cha 
rity« 



216 

Oh ! that those who are Messed with abim 
dance, and who too often forget their fellow- 
creatures' wants — Oh ! that they would re- 
member, that 

** To sympathise and melt at human woe, 
" Is what the rich to the distressed owe." 

Such children of misfortune should not 
only be relieved with liberality, but also 
with delicacy. While the hand of hospitality 
is extended to alleviate their wants, it should 
he done in such a manner, as not to suffuse 
the countenance with confusion. The com- 
passionate and delicate conduct of Boaz to 
Ruth, is an admirable pattern for the mem- 
bers of charitable associations. Ruth being 
reduced to penury, intreated Boaz to permit 
her to glean his fields ; he not only grant- 
ed her request, but also commanded his 
young men, saying, " Let her glean even 
among the sheaves, and rebuke her not, and 
let fall some of the handfuls on purpose, and 
leave them that she may glean them, and re- 
proach her not." This was a gracious ac- 
tion, done in a gracious way ; and I would 
Say to the, unfeeling devotee, '* Go thou and 
do likewise." 

III. The Society is to consist exclusively 
of females j no men are to be admitted, on- 
ly as donors and subscribers. Provided al- 



317 

ways, that the transactions of the Society 
shall at all times be open for their investiga- 
tion. 

IV. The Governess is to preside at all 
meetings, or in her absence, one to be cho- 
sen protempore. It shall be her duty to make 
out the appointments for the visitors, pre- 
serve order, state questions for discussion, 
and use her utmost endeavours to replenish 
the funds of the Society, and procure old 
apparel, damaged cloth, remnants, or even 
wrappings, which compassionate dry good 
store-keepers may be disposed to bestow the 
Society. It shall be her duty to give such 
remnants, &c. to those charitable females 
who may be inclined to make them into 
clothes to cover poor, naked and friendless 
orphans. 

V. The Visiting Committee is to con- 
sist of religious characters, who may be ca- 
pable of instructing ignorant and afflicted fe- 
males, without respecting persons ; of any 
nation, colour or profession, who are desti- 
titute of earthly support. 

It shall be their particular duty to visit 
and instruct the distressed orphans, and 
wretched females in the Bettering-house, 
Hospital, and Prison ; if permission to that 
effect can be obtained. The Governess is 
to appoint suitable members to pray with the 
t 



218 

sick, and exhort the healthy to seek the Lord, 
While he may be found, &c. The Visiting 
Committee are to use their utmost endea- 
vours to seek the abodes of ignorant, and de- 
fenceless females, especially such young or* 
phan girls who are most liable to be enticed 
from the paths of virtue. It shall be their 
particular duty to use every prudent means 
to bring such lost sheep to the fold of Christ, 
and for this purpose, to establish social meet- 
ings when they think good may be done 
thereby. 

VI. P/uis females of every christian 
denomination shall be admitted as mem- 
bers of this Society ; each member to pay as 
a sense of duty may direct : even two cents 
per week will be thankfully received. 

VII. As the spiritual and temporal relief of 
poor, needy and desolate females, who have 
no eye to pity, nor hand to help them, is 
the particular object of this Society, it 
shall be the duty of each member, as she 
has opportunity, to give general informa- 
tion of the object of this charity, so that the 
children of affliction, while on sick or dying 
beds, when under concern for their souPs 
welfare may know where to send for relief." 

The members of this truly benevolent in- 
stitution are indefatigable in their labour of 
love. Many distressed families, and indi- 



219 

viduals, have already been relieved and 
comforted through their instrumentality ; 
but alas ! their funds are also nearly exhaus- 
ted, and the objects of their charity are nu- 
merous. Hence they are retarded in their 
philanthropic endeavours for the comfort of 
their distressed fellow-mortals. It will 
doubtless be u nnecessary to expatiate upon 
the utility, excellency, and disinterested 
generosity of the antecedent institutions; 
every intelligent person wiU, with the most 
superficial glance, at once see their intrinsic 
worth. The respectability and probity (if 
the officers and members, will preclude all 
premature doubts in the public mind, rela- 
tive to the application of the funds. 

I have as far as my limits would admit, 
intreated tlte humane reader to contribute 
his quota towards the support of the antece- 
dent institutions, and thus lay up treasure in 
heaven, preparatory to that approaching 
moment, when lie will have to stand naked 
at the bar of God, to give a strict account of 
his stewardship, and be judged ; not accor- 
ding to the number of sacramental, ceremo- 
nial, or social meetings he has attended, but 
according to his works, whether good or 
evil. 

AH that is left for me now to say is, to 
entreat the blessing of Providence on what 



has been already said. And oh, my all- 
powerful, all-sufficient, and almighty God ! 
Thou sire of the distressed, and thou soul 
of my soul, and sovereign of my heart; in 
whom I live, move, and have my being ! 
Do thou in tender mercy bless my endea- 
vours, for the present and eternal benefit of 
my poor unhappy fellow sinners. Oh ! do 
pity those objects who do command my 
warmest commisseration, thou "Parent of 
good ;" and may these intreaties and tragi- 
cal exhibitions raise compassionate and sym- 
pathetic tenderness in some benevolent heart, 
or at least stimulate the rich to pity the mis- 
erable poor. 

" Few are the comforts which they humbly crave, 
The children weep for food, their parents seek a 
grave." 

note. 

Before I conclude this department, I must mention 
another Benevolent Society, which has been recently 
established by some of the most worthy and respectable 
citizens of Philadelphia. — It is called after that incom- 
parable patriot who, without any pecuniary compensa- 
tion, devoted a useful life to the service of his country, 
and at its termination bequeathed large donations for the 
support of societies similar to those we advocate. 
*' This society is called the Washington Benevolent So- 
ciety," and have already 14Q0 members. May their re- 
ward be commensurate with their philanthropy in the ap- 
proving smiles of heaven,— the approbation of consci-. 
ence — and the benedictions of the poor. 



DEPARTMENT. IV 



vwvwvwwx. 



The Beauties of the Rights of Man, &c. contrasted with 
the wrongs of Monarchy, introduced in concise, but 
comprehensive sections. Intended to inspire the 
adults, as well as the youth of the American Re- 
public, with an ardent love of liberty, virtue, and in- 
dependence. 

DEDICATION, 

To the republican and Scholastic feathers of the United 
States, this department is dedicated, with sentiments of 
high consideration, by their friend and fellow citizen, 

THE AUTHOR, 



SECTION I. 

MAN AS HE OUGHT TO B£. 

THE reader is humbly entreated to pardon 
the liberty I may take in transposing some 
of the sentiments of the greatest political 
writers the world ever beheld, and adding 
new sentiments thereunto, in order to make 
each section uniform, and adapted to the ca- 
pacity of the American youth. Credit is 
given for the whole, whether original or se- 
lected. 

* Could the adult, as well as the juvenile 
T % 



%%% 

reader view man uncorrirpted by bad gov- 
ernment, bad education, and bad example, 
they could then more clearly recognise the 
wrongs and usurpations of monarchy* Yes, 
man in a state of simplicity, uncorrupted by 
the influence of bad education, bad exam- 
ples, and bad government, possesses a taste 
for all that is good and beautiful. He is ca- 
pable of a degree of moral and intellectual 
improvement, which advances his nature to 
a participation with the divine. The world 
in all its magnificence, appears to him one 
vast theatre, richly adorned and illuminated, 
into which he is freely admitted to enjoy 
the glorious spectacle. Acknowledging no 
natural superior, but the great architect of 
the whole fabric, he partakes the delight 
with conscious dignity, and glows with gra- 
titude. Pleased with himself and all around 
him, his heart dilates with benevolence, as 
well as piety ; and he finds his joys aug- 
mented by communication. His countenance 
cheerful, his mien erect, he rejoices in ex- 
istence. Life is a continual feast to him, 
highly seasoned by virtue, by liberty, and by 
mutual affection. God formed him to be 
happy, and he becomes so, thus fortunately 
unmolested by false policy and oppression. 
Religion, reason, nature, are his guides 
through the whole of his existence, and the 



S23 

whole is'happy. Virtuous independence, 
the sun, which irradiates the morning of his 
day, and warms its noon, tinges the serene 
evening with every beautiful variety of co- 
lour, and on the pillow of religious hope, he 
sinks to repose in the bosom of Providence. 

But where is man to be found, thus no- 
ble, thus innocent, thus happy ? Not, indeed, 
in so many parts of the terraqueous globe 
as he ought to be ; but still he is to be found 
wherever the rights of nature, and the vir- 
tues of simplicity are not violated or ban- 
ished by the false refinements, the base ar- 
tifices of corrupted government. 

Unhappily for man, society has been al- 
most universally corrupted, even by the arts 
intended for its improvement ; and human 
nature is gradually depraved in its very 
progress to civilization. Metamorphosed 
by the tampering of unskilful or dishonest 
politicians, and the craft of interested priests 
co-operating with politicians, man at pre- 
sent appears, in many countries, a diminu- 
tive and distorted animal, compared with 
what he was in his primeval state. He is 
become the dwarf and cripple of courts 
and cities, instead of the well-formed, beau- 
tiful, creature, who once bounded in the 
glory of health and strength, over the forest 
and the mountain, glowing with the warmth 



2&4 

of tirtue, and breathing the spirit of inde^ 
pendence, 

Various are the causes which contribute 
to the factitious depravity of man. Defec- 
tive and erroneous education corrupts him ; 
the prevalent examples of a degenerate com- 
munity corrupt him ; but bad government 
corrupts him more than all other causes com- 
bined* The grand adversary of humari 
virtue and happiness is despotism, Look 
over the surface of the whole earth, and 
behold man, the glory and deputed lord of 
the creation, withering under the influence 
of despotism, like the plant of temperate 
climes scorched by the sun of a torrid 
zone. The leaf is sickly, the blossom dares 
not expand its beauty, and no fruit arrives 
at its just size and maturity. 

Turkey, Italy, Egypt! how changed from 
what ye were when inhabited by ancient 
Greeks, Romans, Egyptians \ Nature, in- 
deed, still smiles upon them with unalter- 
ed favour. The blue mantle of the skies is 
still spread over them in all its luminous 
magnificence. There is no reason to sup- 
pose the earth less fertile. The corn laughs 
in the vallies. The tree aspires to Heaven 
with all its original verdure and majesty, 
But max decays ; withered, shrunk, enerva- 
ted ; a form without spirit, an animal less 
happy than the beasts of the field, and mora 



225 

ignoble, inasmuch as degeneracy is baser 
than native, original, created inferiority. 
Fallen with the columnar ruins of better 
times, over which, in these countries, he 
often tramples, man himself appears little 
better than a ruin, displaying all the defor- 
mity of the mouldering pile, with scarcely 
any vestige of its former magnificence. It 
"would equally contradict philosophy and 
experience, to attribute this moral degenera- 
cy to the decay of nature's vigour. There 
is no reason to conclude that the natural 
faculties of men who inhabit countries once 
free, but now enslaved, are produced in a 
state of less perfection at this hour, than in 
the days of our illustrious forefathers. Ana- 
tomy discovers no defect in the fibres of the 
heart or the brain ; yet the degeneracy re- 
mains uncontested. In truth, government 
has counteracted the beneficence of nature. 
The men are fallen ; while the human fig- 
ures, with their internal and external or- 
ganization, continue similar, or the same. 
They are inactive and pusillanimous. They 
aspire at no extraordinary excellence or 
achievements ; but crouch beneath their des- 
pot, glad of the poor privilege allowed them 
by a fellow creature, as weak and more 
wicked than themselves, to eat, drink, sleep, 
and die. Any pre-eminent degree of merit 



226 

among them, would render the distinguished 
possessor of it fatally illustrious, the certain 
object of a tyrant's vengeance ; and they 
find their best security in their want of vir- 
tue. By a voluntary submission to contempt, 
they retain and transmit the privilege of 
breathing, and build the bulwark of their 
safety on their personal insignificance. 

* Fear must, of necessity, become the 
predominant passion in all countries, subject 
to the uncontrolled dominion of an indivi- 
dual and his ministers: but fear chills the 
blood and freezes the faculties. Under its 
icy influence there can arise no generous 
emulation, no daring spirit of adventure. 
Enterprize is considered as dangerous, not 
merely from the general casualty of all hu- 
man affairs, but because it excites notice, 
and alarms the jealousy of selfish power. 
Under a despotic government, to steal 
through life unobserved, to creep, with 
timed caution, through the vale of obscuri- 
ty, is the first wisdom ; and to be suffered 
to die in old age, without the prison, the 
chain, the dagger, or the poisoned bowl, 
the highest pitch of human felicity. 

* Ignorance of the grossest kind, igno- 
rance of man's nature and rights, ignorance 
of all that tends to make and keep us hap- 
ly* disgraces and render^ wretched more 



227 

than half the earth, at this moment, in con- 
sequence of its subjugation to despotic pow- 
er. Ignorance, robed in imperial purple, 
with Pride and Cruelty by her side, sways 
an iron sceptre over more than two hemis- 
pheres. In the finest and largest regions of 
this planet which we inhabit, are no liberal 
pursuits and professions, no contemplative 
delights, nothing of that pure, intellectual 
employment which raises man from the mire 
of sensuality and sordid care, to a degree of 
excellence and dignity, which we conceive 
to be angelic and celestial. Without know- 
ledge, or the means of obtaining it, without 
exercise or excitements, the mind falls into 
a state of infantine imbecility and dotage; 
or acquires a low cunning, intent only on 
selfish and mean pursuits, such as is visible 
in the more ignoble of the irrational crea- 
tures, in foxes, apes, and monkies. Among 
nations so corrupted, the utmost effort of ge- 
nious is a court intrigue or a ministerial ca- 
bal. 

4 A degradation of the understanding, like 
this, is usually accompanied with depravity 
of heart. From an inability to find pleasure 
and honourable employment in the energies 
of thought, in noble and virtuous actions, in 
refined conversation, in arts, in commerce, 
in learning, arises a mischievous activity iii 



228 

trifles, a perversion of nature, a wantonness 
of wickedness, productive of flagitious ha- 
bits, which render the partaker of reason 
the most despicable and detestable animal 
in the whole circle of existence. Thus sunk 
under the pressure of despotism, who can 
recognize, notwithstanding the human shape 
they bear, the lineal descendants of -^Egyp- 
tian, Grecian, Roman worthies, the glory 
of their times, the luminaries of their own 
country and the worlds, the instructors and 
benefactors of human nature? Thus the 
image of the Deity, stamped on man at his 
creation, is defiled or utterly effaced by go- 
vernment, instituted and exercised by man 
over his fellow-man ; and his kindred to 
Heaven is known no more by the divine 
resemblance. A bad government is there- 
fore the curse of the earth, the scourge of 
man, the grand obstacle to the divine will, 
the most copious source of all moral evil, 
and for that reason, of all misery ; but of 
bad governments, none are comparable, in 
their mischievous effects, to the despotic. 

'But if despotism in its extreme produces 
consequences thus malignant, reason will 
infer, and experience will justify the infer- 
ence, that all the subordinate degrees of de- 
spotism are proportionably destructive. 
However it may be disguised by forms, it is 



229 

ever seeking its own increase and aggraii 
disement, by openly crushing, or secretly 
undermining, the fabric of liberty : it is ever 
encroaching on the privileges and enjoy- 
ments of those who are subjected to it ; 
greedily, though foolishly, wishing to en- 
gross every good of every kind in this sub- 
lunary state, except the good of virtue. 

< Power, though limited by written laws, 
in the hartds of mortal men, poorly educated, 
and surrounded by sycophants and flatterers, 
who wish, by partaking the power, to par- 
take also of its profits and distinctions, and 
thus gratify at once their pride and avarice, 
is always endeavouring to extend itself be- 
yond the limitations; and requires to be 
watched with the most jealous eye, by all 
who are subject to it, and to be restrained 
within its bounds by the manliest efforts, 
and the most determined resolution of vir- 
tue. Every engine of artifice and terror 
will be used to suppress such virtue : but the 
friend of man and of his country will defy 
persecution, fines, imprisonment, and death, 
in attempting, by every lawful and rational 
means, to push back the gigantic strides of 
encroaching despotism, more destructive of 
happiness than an earthquake or a pestilence. 
A country deserves no love, when it ceases 
to be a country of liberty. Human beings 
u 



230 

constitute a country, not a soil in. ar certain, 
latitude ; and an attachment to liberty is the 
truest patriotism. 

« It is therefore highly expedient, when 
ever a people, free by law and constitution* 
appear in the smallest degree to remit their 
attention to the preservation of freedom, to 
urge them, by the most serious admonition, 
to an immediate resumption of their vigi- 
lance. While they slumber and sleep, lulled 
by the Circean cup of corruption, the enemy 
is awake, and busily making his insidious 
approaches to the citadel. Every inch of 
ground, they carelessly relinquish, is eager- 
ly seized by the covetous possessor of do- 
minion ; the love of which, like the love of 
money, increases by accession. Nor are 
there ever wanting numbers of artful men, 
who stimulate a weak or a wicked ruler in 
fojs encroachments ; sensible as they are, that 
their own power and privileges will be aug- 
mented with those of said ruler, whose ex- 
clusive favour they have gained by syco- 
phantic arts, and by co-operations in the fal- 
lacious service of enlarging his power. The 
more the power of the ruler is augmented, 
the greater will be the emoluments" of office. 
In the view of American, as well as Euro- 
pean tories, a star shines with higher lustre, 
a, ribband displays a brighter- hue, a title 



231 

soothes the ear with sweeter music, when 
conferred by a mighty potentate far exalted 
above vulgar control, and who holds his 
crown in contempt of the people. If kings 
can be once elevated to the rank of Heaven's 
vice gerents, how must admiring plebeians 
idolize their chioce favours and their prime 
favourites ? There is always, therefore, a 
set of men (to whom pom]) and vanity are 
the chief good) who are continually endea- 
vouring to add glory and greatness to the 
orb from which they derive their own lustre. 
Moons and satellites would shine faintly 
indeed, unless the sun of the system glit- 
tered with intolerable effulgence. If the 
sun were shorn of its beams, their native 
opaqueness would pass without notice, 
» < So many advantages do the professors of 
power enjoy for its extention, in all countries 
where courts have influence, that the people, 
however great their numbers, arc scarcely a 
match for its subtle contrivances, its false 
alarms, its bribes, its spies, its informers, its 
constructive treasons, its military force, its 
superstitious terrors, invented and diffused 
by a policy, which often laughs in secret at 
the religion which it enforces with solemn 
hypocrisy. A court lias an opportunity of 
gratifying, in a thousand different wayg, 
froth secretly and openly, the most prera- 



lent and violent passions of human nature. 
When the mass of the people are artfully 
seduced to throw their weight into the same 
scale with the court, liberty in the other must 
kick the beam. When the aristocracy of 
rank and riches unite hand in hand, to se- 
duce the people, the delusion may for a time 
be successful, and advantages may be taken, 
during the temporary delirium, to rifle the 
castle of liberty, to weaken its foundations, 
to break down its battlements, or to lull its 
watchmen asleep with a powerful opiate. 

* It has indeed been said in ancient times, 
and often repeated, that if the people will be 
deceived, let them be deceived; but they have 
no choice, no chance to escape deception, 
unless the truth be fairly and publicly exhi- 
bited to them, and their minds duly enlight* 
cned. When dust is thrown into their eyes, 
more (especially gold dust, the political op- 
thalmist must honestly endeavour to clear 
away the obstruction. It becomes every 
lover of his country, especially a country 
like America, where the foundation of every 
state is fixed on liberty as on a corner stone, 
to warn his countrymen of the danger, 
wherever he observes the smallest encroach- 
ment on their rights, and the spirit of the 
times tending but remotely to despotism.' 



a&3 

SECTION II. 

THE RIGHTS OF MAN DELINEATED. 

< NATURAL rights are those which 
appertain to man, in right of his existence. 
Of this kind are all the intellectual rights, 
or rights of the mind, and also all those 
rights of acting as an individual for his own 
comfort and happiness, which are not inju- 
rious to the natural rights of others. — -Civil 
rights are those which appertain to man in 
right of his being a member of society. 
Every civil right has for its foundation, 
some natural right pre-existing in the indi- 
vidual, hut to the enjoyment of which his 
individual power is not, in all cases, suffi- 
ciently competent. Of this kind are all 
those which relate to security and protec- 
tion. 

' From this short review, it will be easy 
to distinguish between that class of natural 
rights which man retains after entering into 
society, and those which he throws into the 
Common stock as a member of society. 

* The natural rights which lie retains, 

are all those in which the power to execute 

is as perfect in the individual as the right 

itself. Among this class, as is heforc-menr 

cl r are all the intellectual rights* OV 



234 

rights of the mind : consequently, religion 
is one of those rights. The natural rights 
which are not retained, are all those in 
which, though the right is perfect in the in- 
dividual, the power to execute them is de- 
fective. They answer not this purpose. A 
man, by natural right, has a right to judge 
in his own cause ; and so far as the right of 
the mind is concerned, he never surrenders 
it : but what availeth it him to judge, if he 
has not the power to redress ? He therefore 
deposits this right in the common stock of so- 
ciety, and takes the arm of society; of which 
he is a part, in preference and in addition to 
his own. Society grants him nothing. Eve- 
ry man is a proprietor in society, and draws 
on the capital as a matter of right. 

« From these primises, two or three cer* 
tain conclusions will follow. 

j First, That every civil right grows out 
of a natural right ; or, in other words, is a 
natural right exchanged. 

6 Secondly, That civil power, properly 
considered as such, is made up of the ag- 
gregate of that class of the natural rights of 
man, which becomes defective in the indi- 
vidual in point of power, and answers not 
his purpose ; but when collected to a focus, be- 
comes competent to the purpose of every one. 

« Thirdly, That the power produced from 
the aggregate of natural rights, imperfect in 



S35 

po*ver in the individual, cannot be applied 
to invade the natural rights which are re- 
tained in the individual, and in which the 
power to execute is as perfect as the right 
itself. 

« We have now, in a few words, traced 
man from a natural individual to a member 
of society, and shown, or endeavoured to 
show, the quality of the natural rights re- 
tained, and of those which are exchanged 
for civil rights. Let us now apply these 
principles to governments. 

i In casting our eyes over the world, it 
is extremely easy to distinguish the govern- 
ments which have arisen out of society, or 
out of the social compact, from those which 
have not : but to place this in a clearer light 
than what a single glance may afford, it 
will be proper to take a review of the seve- 
ral sources form which governments have ari- 
sen, and on which they have been founded. 

« They may all be comprehended under 
three heads. First, Superstition Second- 
ly, Power. Thirdly, The common interest 
of society, and the common rights of man. 

« The first was a government of priest- 
craft, the second of conquerors, and the 
third of reason. 

< When a set of artful men pretended, 
through the medium of oracles, to hold in- 
tercourse with the Deity, as familiarly as 



236 

they now march up the back-stairs in Euro- 
pean courts, the world was completely un- 
der the government of superstition. The 
oracles were consulted, and whatever they 
were made to say became the law ; and this 
sort of government lasted as long as this 
sort of superstition lasted. 

« After these a race of conquerors arose, 
whose government, like that of William the 
Conqueror, was founded in power, and the 
sword assumed the name of a scepter. Go- 
vernments thus established, last as long as 
the power to support them lasts ; but that 
they might avail themselves of every engine 
in their favour, they united fraud to force, 
and set up an idol which they call Divine 
Right, and which in imitation of the Pope, 
who affects to be spiritual and temporal, and 
in contradiction of the Founder of the Chris- 
tian Religion, twisted itself afterwards into 
an idol of another shape, called Church and 
State. The key of St. Peter, and the key 
of treasury, became quartered on one ano- 
ther, and the wondering, cheated multitude* 
worshipped the invention. 

* When I contemplate the natural digni- 
ty of man ; when I feel (for nature has not 
been kind enough to me to blunt my feel- 
ings) for the honour and happiness of its 
character, I become irritated at the attempt 



237 

to govern mankind by force and fraud, as 
if they were all knaves and fools, and can 
scarcely avoid disgust at those who are thus 
imposed upon. 

« We have now to review the govern- 
ments which arise out of society, in contra- 
distinction to those which arose out of super- 
stition and conquest. 

< It has been thought a considerable ad- 
vance towards establishing the principles of 
freedom, to say, that government is a com- 
pact between those who govern, and those 
who are governed : but this cannot be true, 
because it is putting the effect before the 
cause ; for as man must have existed before 
governments existed, there necessarily was 
a time when governments did not exist, and 
consequently there could originally exist no 
governors to form such a compact with. 
The fact therefore must be, that the indivi- 
duals themselves, each in his own personal 
and sovereign right, entered into a compact 
with each other, to produce a government : 
and this is the only mode in which govern- 
ments have a rightto arise, and the only prin- 
ciple on which they have a rightto exist.' 

SECTION III. 

TOLERATION THE COUNTERFEIT OF INTOLERANCE. 

< TOLERATION is not the opposite of 
Intolerance, is but the counterfeit of it. Both 



238 

are despotisms. The one assumes to itself 
the right of with-holding Liberty of Con- 
science, and the other of granting it. The 
One is the pope armed with fire and faggot, 
and the other is the selling or granting in- 
dulgences. The former is church and state* 
and the latter is church and traffic. 

i But Toleration may be vie wed in a much 
stronger light. Man worships not himself, 
but his Maker ; and the liberty of conscience 
which he claims is not for the service of 
himself, but of his God. In this case, there- 
fore, we must necessarily havethe associated 
idea of two beings j the mortal who renders 
the worship, and the Immortal Being who 
fe worshipped. Toleration, therefore, places 
itself, not between man and man, nor be- 
tween church and church, nor between one 
denomination of religion and another, but 
between God and man ; between the being 
who worships, and the Being who is wor- 
shipped ; and by the same act of assumed 
authority by which it tolerates man to pay 
his worship, it presumptuously and blasphe- 
mously sets itself up to tolerate the Al- 
mighty to receive it. 

6 Were a Bill brought into any parlia- 
ment, intitled "An Act to tolerate or 
grant liberty to the Almighty to receive the 
worship of a Jew or a Turk, or prohibit 



239 

the Almighty from receiving it," all men 
would startle, ami call it blasphemy. There 
would be an uproar. The presumption of 
toleration in religious matters would then 
present itself unmasked : But the presump- 
tion is not less because the name of '* Man 5 ' 
only appears to those laws, for the associated 
idea of the worshipper and the worshipped 
cannot be separated. — Who, then, art thou, 
vain dust and ashes ! by whatever name thou 
art called, whether a King, a Bishop, a 
Church, or a State, a Parliament, or any 
thing else, that obtrudest thine insignificance 
between the soul of man and its Maker? 
Mind thine own concerns. If he believes 
not as thou believes, it is a proof that thou 
helievestnot as he believeth, and there is no 
earthly power can determine between you.' 
>Yith respect to what are called denomi- 
nations of religion, if every one is left to 
judge of its own religion, there is no such 
thing as a religion that is wrong; but if they 
are to judge of each others' religion, there 
is no such a thing as a religion that is right; 
and therefore, all the world is right, or all 
the world is wrong. But with respect to 
ion itself, without regard to names, and 
as directing itself from the universal family 
of mankind to the Divine object of all ado- 
ration, it is man bringing to his Maker the 



240 

fruits of his heart; and though those fruits 
may differ from each other like the fruits of 
the earth, the grateful tribute of €very one 
is accepted. 

« A Bishop of Durham, or a Bishop of 
Winchester, or the Archbishop who heads 
the Dukes, will not refuse a tythe-sheaf 
of wheat, because it is not a cock of hay ; 
nor a cock of hay, because it is not a sheaf 
of wheat ; nor a pig, because it is neither 
one nor the other : But these same persons, 
under the figure of an established church, 
will not permit their Maker to receive the va- 
ried tythes of man's devotion/ 

SECTION tY. 

REPUBLICANISM AND MONARCHY CON- 
TRASTED* 

THE case of the government of the 
United States presents itself, to prove the 
grand imposition of monarchical govern- 
ments. The present civil list of the royal 
Anglo-Hanoverian lunatic, George the III, 
is, eleven hundred thousand pounds ster- 
ling, and even a peer of the crown has also 
an enormous salary ; yet the whole federal 
government of the United States, which ex- 
tends over a country forty times as large as 



Great Britain, is conducted Avitli regularity, 
and every officer of the state, from the pre- 
sident to the constable, regularly paid, at far 
less expense than the salaries of the useless 
king and archbishops of England amount to. 

« If I ask a man in America, if he wants 
a King; he retorts, and asks me if I take 
him for an idiot. How is it that this differ- 
ence happens ? Are we more or less wise 
than others ? I see in America, the general- 
ity of people living in a style of plenty un- 
known in monarchical countries ; and I see 
that the principle of its government, which 
is that of the equal Rights of Man, is mak- 
ing a rapid progress in the world. 

< If monarchy is a useless thing, why is 
it kept up any where ? And if a necessary 
thing, how can it be dispensed with ? The 
civil government is necessary, all civilized 
nations will agree; but civil government is 
republican government. All that part of the 
government of England, which begins with 
the office of constable, and proceeds through 
the department of magistrate, quarter-ses- 
sion, and general assize, including trial by 
jury, is republican government. Nothing 
of monarchy appears in any of it, except the 
name which William the Conqueror impos- 
ed upon the English, that of obliging them 



to call him M Their Sovereign Lord the 
King." 

6 It is easy to conceive, that a band of in- 
terested men, such as Placemen, Petition- 
ers, Lords of the bed-chamber, Lords of 
the kitchen, Lords of the necessary-house, 
and the Lord knows what besides, can find 
as many reasons for monarchy as their sala- 
ries, paid at the expense of the country, 
amount to; but if I ask the farmer, the ma- 
nufacturer, the merchant, the tradesman, 
and down through all the occupations of 
life, to the common labourer, what service 
monarchy is to him ? He can give me no 
answer. If I ask him what monarchy is, he 
believes it is something like sinecure. 

* Notwithstanding the taxes of England 
amount to many millions a year, said to be 
for the expenses of government, it is still 
evident that the sense of the nation is left to 
govern itself, and does govern itself by ma- 
gistrates and juries, almost at its own charge, 
on republican principles, exclusive of the 
expense of the taxes. The salaries of the 
judges is almost the only charge that is paid 
out of the revenue. Considering that all the 
internal government is executed by the peo- 
ple, the taxes of England ought to be the 
lightest of any nation in Europe; instead of 
which, they are the contrary* As this c&Th 



243 

riot be accounted for on tlic score of civil 
government, the subject necessarily extends 
itself to the monarchical part. 

* Reason and ignorance, the opposites of 
each other, influence the great bulk of man- 
kind. If either of these can be rendered 
sufficiently extensive in a country, the ma- 
chinery of government goes easily on. Rea- 
son obeys itself; and ignorance submits to 
whatever is dictated to it. 

4 The two modes of Government which 
prevail in the world, &rc 9 jirst 9 Government 
by election and representation : secondly, 
Government by hereditary succession. The 
former is generally known by the name of 
republic; and the latter by that of monar- 
chy and aristocracy. 

* Those two distinct and opposite forms 
erect themselves on the two distinct and 
opposite bases of Reason and Ignorance. 
As the exercise of Government requires ta- 
lents and abilities, and as talents and abili- 
ties cannot have hereditary descent, it is 
evident that hereditary succession requires 
a belief from man, to which his reason can- 
not subscribe, and which can only be esta- 
blished upon his ignorance; and the more 
ignorant any country is, the better it is fitted 
for this species of government. 

* On the contrary, Government, in a well 



244 

constituted republic, requires no belief from 
man beyond what his reason can give. He 
sees the rationale of the whole system, its 
origin and its operations ; and as it is best 
supported, when best understood, the hu- 
man faculties act with boldness, and acquire, 
under this form of Government, a gigantic 
manliness. 

< As, therefore, each of those forms acts 
on a different base, the one moving freely by 
the aid of reason, the other by ignorance ; 
we have next to consider what it is that 
gives motion to that species of government 
which is called mixed government, or, as it 
is sometimes ludicrously styled, a Govern- 
ment of this, that, and V other. 

* The moving power of this species of go- 
vernment is, of necessity, corruption. How- 
ever imperfect election and representation 
may be in mixed governments, they still give 
exercise to a greater portion of reason than 
is convenient to the hereditary part ; and 
therefore it becomes necessary to buy the 
reason up. A mixed government is an im- 
perfect every -thing, cementing and soldering 
the discordant parts together by corruption, 
to act as a whole. Mr. Burke appears high- 
ly disgusted, that France, since she had re- 
solved on a revolution, did not adopt what he 
calls " Ji British Constitution;" and the re- 






245 

gretful manner in which he expresses him- 
self on this occasion, implies a suspicion, 
that the British Constitution needed some- 
thing to keep its defects in countenance. 

« In mixed Governments there is no re- 
sponsibility : the parts cover each other till 
responsibility is lost ; and the corruption 
which moves the machine, contrives at the 
same time its own escape. When it is laid 
down as a maxim, that a King can do no 
wrong, it places him in a state of similar 
security with that of idiots and persons in- 
sane, and responsibility is out of the ques- 
tion with respect to himself. It then de- 
scends upon the minister, who shelters him- 
self under a majority in Parliament, which, 
by places, pensions, and corruption, he can 
always command; and that majority justi- 
fies itself by the same authority with which 
it protects the Minister. In this rotatory 
motion, responsibility is thrown off from the 
parts, and from the whole. 

< When there is a part in a Government 
which can do no wrong, implies that it does 
nothing; and is only the machine of another 
power by whose advice and direction it acts. 
What is supposed to be the King in mixed 
Governments, is the Cabinet $ and as the 
Cabinet is always a part of the Parliament, 
and the members justify in one character 

X 2 



me 

what they advise and act in another, a mix- 
ed Government becomes a continual enigma, 
entailing upon a country, by the quantity of 
corruption necessary to solder the parts, the 
expense of supporting all the forms of go- 
vernment at once, and finally resolving it- 
self into a Government by a Committee ; in 
which the advisers, the actors, the approvers, 
the justifiers, the persons responsible, and 
the persons not responsible, are the same 
persons. 

f By this pantomimical contrivance, and 
change of scene and character, the parts 
help each other out in matters which neither 
of them singly would assume to act. When 
money is to be obtained, the mass of variety 
apparently dissolves, and a profusion of par- 
liamentary praises passes between the parts. 
Each admires with astonishment, the wis- 
dom, the liberty, the disinterestedness of the 
other ; and alt of them breathe a pitying sigh 
at the burthens of the nation. 

* But in a well-constituted republic, no- 
thing of this soldering, praising, and pitying, 
can take place; the representation being 
equal throughout the country, and complete 
in itself, however it may be arranged into le- 
gislative and executive, thev have all one 



and the same natural source. The parts 
are not foreigners to each other, like demo- 
cracy, aristocracy, and monarchy. As there 



247 

are no discordant distinctions, there is no- 
thing to corrupt by compromise, nor con- 
found by contrivance. Public measures ap- 
peal of themselves to the understanding of 
the Nation, and resting on their own merits, 
disown any flattering application to vanity. 
The continual whine of lamenting the bur- 
den of taxes, however successfully it may 
be practised in mixed Governments, is in- 
consistent with the sense and spirit of a re- 
public. If taxes are necessary, they are of 
course advantageous, but if they require an 
apology, the apology itself implies an im- 
peachment. Why then is man thus imposed 
upon, or why does he impose upon himself? 
* When men are spoken of as kings and 
subjects, or when Government is mentioned 
under the distinct or combined heads of 
monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, what 
is it that reasoning man is to understand by 
the term ? If there really existed in the 
world two or more distinct and separate 
elements of human power, we should then 
see the several origins to which those terms 
would descriptively apply ; but as there is 
but one species of man, there can be but one 
element of human power, and that clement 
is man himself. Monarchy, aristocracy, 
and democracy, are but creatures of imagi- 
nation ; and a thousand such may be i 
trived as well as three. 



£48 

i When we survey the wretched condi- 
tion of man under the monarchical and he- 
reditary systems of Government, dragged 
from his home by one power, or driven by 
another, and impoverished by taxes more 
than by enemies, it becomes evident that 
those systems are bad, and that a general 
revolution in the principle and construction 
of Government is necessary. 

« What is Government more than the 
linanagement of the affairs of a Nation? It 
is not, and from its nature cannot he, the 
property of any particular man or family, 
but of the whole community, at whose ex- 
pense it is supported: and though by force 
or contrivance it has been usurped into an 
inheritance, the usurpation cannot alter the 
right of the things. Sovereignty, as a mat- 
ter of right, appertains to the Nation only* 
and not to any individual; and a nation 
has at all times an inhcritant indefeasible 
right to abolish any form of Government 
it finds inconvenient, and establish such as 
accords with its interest, disposition, and 
happiness. The romantic and barbarous 
distinction of men into Kings and subjects, 
though it may suit the condition of courtiers, 
cannot that of citizens : and is exploded by 
rhe principle upon which Governments are 
now founded. Everv citizen is a member 






349 

of the sovereignty, and, as such, can ac- 
knowledge no personal subjection, and his 
obedience can be only to the laws. 

< When men think of what Government 
is, they must necessarily suppose it to pos- 
sess a knowledge of all the objects and mat- 
ters upon which its authority is to be exer- 
cised. In this view of Government, the re- 
publican system, as established by America, 
operates to embrace the whole of a Nation, 
and the knowledge necessary to the interest 
of all the parts, is to be found in the centre, 
which the parts by representation form : But 
the old Governments are on a construction 
that excludes knowledge as well as happi- 
ness : Government by Monks, who know 
nothing of the world beyond the walls of a 
Convent, is as consistent as Government by 
Kings. 

« What were formerly called Revolutions, 
were little more than a change of persons, 
or an alteration of local circumstances. 
They rose and fell like tilings of course, 
and had nothing in their existence or their 
facte that could influence beyond the spot 
that produced them. But what we now sec 
in the world, from the Revolution of Ame- 
rica, is a renovation of the natural order 
of things, a system of principles asuniver 
sal as truth, and the existence of man. 



250 

and combining moral with political happi- 
ness and national prosperity. 

* I. men are born, and always continue 

* free, and equal in respect of their rights. 
4 Civil distinctions, therefore, can be iound- 
« ed only on public utility. 

* II. The end of all political associations, 

* is the preservation of the natural and 
« imprescriptible rights of man ; and these 

< rights are liberty, property, security, and 

* resistance of oppression. 

i III. The Nation is essentially the source 

* of all sovereignty ^ nor can any indivjv 

* dual, on awy body »n men, be entitled 
' to any authority which is not expressly 

< derived from it.' 

< In these principles, there is nothing to 
throw a nation into confusion by inflaming 
ambition. They are calculated to call forth 
wisdom and abilities, and to exercise them 
for the public good, and not for the emo- 
lument or aggrandizement of particular de- 
scriptions of men or families. Monarchical 
sovereignty, the enemy of mankind, and the 
source of misery is abolished ; and sove- 
reignty itself is restored to its original place, 
the Nation, Were this the case through- 
out Eu ope, the cause of wars would be ta- 
ke " ay. 

* it is attributed to Henry the Fourth, 



231 

of France, a man of an enlarged and bene- 
volent heart, that he proposed about the 
year 1610, a plan for abolishing war in Eu- 
rope. The plan consisted in constituting 
an European Congress, or, as the French 
author styles it, a Pacific Republic; by ap- 
pointing delegates, from the several nations, 
who were to act as a court of arbitration in 
any disputes that might arise between na- 
tion and nation. 

' Had such a plan been adopted at the time 
it was proposed, the taxes of England and 
France, as two of the parties, would have 
been at least ten millions sterling annually 
to each nation, less than they were at the 
.commencement of the French Revolution. 

« To conceive a cause why such a plan has 
not been adopted, (and that instead of a con- 
gress for the purpose of preventing war, it 
lias been called only to terminate a war, 
after a fruitless expense of several years) it 
will be necessary to consider the interest of 
governments as a distinct interest to that of 
nations. 

< Whatever is the cause of taxes to a na- 
tion, becomes also the means of revenue to 
a government. Every war terminates with 
an addition of taxes, and consequently with 
an addition of revenue ; and in any event of 
war, in tbe manner they are now commeuc- 



332 

ed and concluded, the power and interest 
of governments are increased. War, there- 
fore, from its productiveness, as it easily 
furnishes the pretence of necessity for taxes 
and appointments to places and offices, be- 
comes a principle part of the system of old 
governments ; and to establish any mode to 
abolish war, however advantageous it might 
be to nations, would be to take from such 
government the most lucrative of its 
branches. The frivolous matters upon which 
war is made, show the disposition and avi- 
dity of governments to uphold the system of 
war, and betray the motives upon which they 
act.' 

SECTION V. 

BAD EDUCATION, THE CAUSE OF NATIONAL 
MISERY. 

' MANY who have arisen to high eleva- 
tion of rank or fortune, seem to think that 
their nature has undergone a real metamor- 
phosis i that they are refined by a kind of 
chemical process, sublimed by the sunshine 
of royal favour, and separated from the fe- 
ces, the dross and the dregs of ordinary hu- 
manity ; that humanity, of which the mass 
of mankind partake, and which, imperfect 
as it is, God created. They seem to them- 



35a 

selves raised to a pinnacle ; from which they 
behold, with sentiments of indifference or 
contempt, all two-legged and unfeathered 
beings of inferior order, placed in the vale, 
as ministers of their pride, and slaves of 
their luxury, or else burdens of the earth, 
and superfluous sharers of existence. 

f The endeavour of their lives, never em- 
ployed in the essential service of society, is 
to keep the vulgar at a distance, lest their 
own pure nature should be contaminated by 
the foul contagion. Their offspring must be 
taught in the first instance, to know and 
revere, not God, not man, but their own 
rank in life. The infants are scarcely suf- 
fered to breathe the common air, to feel the 
common sun, or to walk upon the common 
earth. Immured in nurseries till the time 
for instruction arrives, they are then sur- 
rounded by a variety of domestic tutors. 
And what is the first object in their educa- 
tion ? Is it the improvement of their minds, 
the acquisition of manly sentiment, useful 
knowledge, expanded ideas, piety, philan- 
thropy ? No; it is the embellishment of their 
persons, an accurate attention to dress, to 
their teeth, to grace in dancing, attitude in 
standing, uprightness, not the uprightness of 
the heart, but the formal and unnatural per- 
pendicularity of a soldier drilled on the pa- 



254 

mle. If a master of learned languages and 
philosophy be admitted at all, he feels him- 
self in less estimation with the family than 
the dancing-master; and if possessed of the 
spirit, which the nature of his studies has a 
tendency to inspire, he will soon depart from 
a house, where he is considered in the light 
of an upper servant, paid less wages, and 
subjected to the caprice of the child, whom 
he ought to control with the natural autho- 
rity of superior wisdom. To assume over 
his pupil the rights of that natural superior- 
ity, would be to oppose the favourite ideas 
of the family, i* that all real pre-eminence is 
founded on birth, fortune, and court-favour. 99 
The first object with the pupil, and the last, 
the lesson to be got by heart, and to be re- 
peated by night and by day, is an adequate 
conception of his own native consequence, a 
disposition to extend the influence of rank 
and riches, and to depress and discourage^ 
the natural tendency of personal merit to 
rise to distinction by its own elastic force. 

6 If the boy be allowed to go to any school 
at all, which is not always deemed prudent, 
because schools in general have a few ple- 
beians who raise themselves there, to some 
degree of superiority, by merit only, it is 
only to schools which fashion recommends, 
which abound with titled persons* and where 
the expenses arc so great, as to keep inge- 



255 

nriotis poverty, or even mediocrity of for- 
tune, at a respectful distance. Here he fe 
instructed to form connexions with his su- 
periors. The principal point is to acquire 
the haughty air of nobility. Learning and 
virtue may he added, if peradventure they 
come easily ; hut the formation of connex- 
ions, and the assumption of insolence, is 
indispensable. To promote this purpose, 
pocket money is bestowed on the pupil with 
a lavish hand hy his parents, and all his 
cousins who court his favour. He must 
shew his consequence, and he outdone by 
no lord of them all, in the profusion of his 
expenses, in the variety of his pleasures, 
and, if his great companions should happen 
to be vicious, in the enormity of his vice. 
Insults and injuries may he shown to poor 
people who attend the school, or live near 
it, as marks of present spirit and future he- 
roism. A little money makes a full com- 
pensation, and the glorious actions, on one 
side, and the pusillanimous acquiescence 
under it on the other, evinces the great doc- 
trine, that the poor are by nature creatures 
of other mould, earth-born, perhaps* and 
made for the pastime of those who have had 
the good fortune to be born to opulence or 
title. — The masters themselves are to he 
kept in due order by the illustrious pupils. 



256 

or a rebellion may ensue. Such an event 
indeed is sometimes devoutly wished, as it 
affords opportunities for embryo heroes to 
shew their prowess and their noble pride. 
Every ebullition of spirits, as it is candid- 
ly called, displaying itself in insolence or 
ill usage of the inferior ranks, defenceless 
old men or women, and the poor in general, 
is remembered and cherished with care, as 
a flattering prognostic of future eminence in 
the cabinet, the senate, at the bar, or in the 
field. Justice, generosity, humility, are 
words indeed in the dictionary, and may 
adorn a declamation ; but insolence, extra- 
vagance, and pride, must mark the conduct 
of those who are sent, rather to support the 
dignity of native grandeur by the spirit of 
arrogance, than to seek wisdom and virtue 
with the docility of modest and ingenious 
disciples. Practical oppression of inferiors 
is one of the first elements of aristocratical 
education ; and the order of Faggs (as they 
are called) contributes much to familiarize 
the exercise of future despotism. Mean 
submissions prepare the mind, in its turn, 
to tyrannize. 

* Let us now suppose the stripling grown 
too tall for school, and entered at an univer- 
sity. The English universities are admi- 
rably well adapted to flatter the pride of 



S57 

wealth and title, There is a dress for the 
distinction of the higher orders, extremely 
pleasing to aristoeratical vanity. In the 
world at large the dress of all gentlemen is 
so similar, that nothing is left to point out 
those who think themselves of a superior 
order ; unless indeed they ride in their 
coaches, and exhibit their splendid liveries 
behind, and armorial ensigns on the sides ; 
but at Oxford, they never walk the streets, 
on the commonest occasions, without dis- 
playing their proud pre-eminence by gowns 
of silk, and tufts of gold. 

< As noblemen, or gentlemen commoners, 
they not only enjoy the privilege of splen- 
did vestments, but of neglecting, if they 
please, both learning and religion. They 
are not required, like vulgar scholars, to 
attend regularly to the instruction, or to the 
discipline of the colleges ; and they are al- 
lowed a frequent absence from daily prayer. 
They are thus taught to believe, that a silk- 
en gown and a velvet cap are substitutes for 
knowledge ; and that the rank of gentlemen 
commoners dispenses with the necessity of 
that devotion, which others are compelled to 
profess in the college chapels, High privi- 
leges these ! and they usually fill those who 
enjoy them with the attachment to rank, 
which leads directly to the spirit of despot- 

y c i 



258 

ism. They are flattered in the seats of wis- 
dom, where science and liberality are sup- 
posed to dwell, with an idea of some inherent 
virtue in mere rank, independently of merit ; 
and after having learned a lesson so pleas- 
ing to self-love and idleness, they go out in- 
to the world with confidence, fully resolved 
to practice the proud theories they have im- 
bibed, and to demand respect without en- 
deavouring to deserve it. 

* Without public or private virtue, and 
without even the desire of it ; without know- 
ledge, and without even a thirst for it ; many 
of them, on leaving college, enlist under the 
banners of the minister for the time being, 
or in a self-interested opposition to him, and 
boldly stand forth candidates to represent 
boroughs and counties, on the strength of 
aristocratical influence. Though they ap- 
pear to ask favours of the people, they pay 
no respect to the people, but rely on rank, 
fiehes, and powerful connexions. Ever in- 
clined to favour and promote the old princi- 
ples of jacobinism, toryism, and unlimited 
prerogative, they hope to be rewarded by 
places, pensions, titles ; and then to trample 
on the wretches by whose venal votes they 
rose to eminence 

« The ideas acquired and cherished at school 
and at the university, are confirmed in the 



259 

world by association with persons of a simi- 
lar turn, with oriental adventurers, with pen- 
sioners and courtiers, with all who, sunk in 
the frivolity of a dissipated, vain, and use- 
less life, are glad to find a succedaneum for 
every real virtue, in the privileges of titular 
honour, in splendid equipage, in luxurious 
tables, in magnificent houses, in all that gives 
distinction without merit, and notoriety 
without excellence. Their number and their 
influence increase by an union of similar 
views and principles ; and a formidable pha- 
lanx is formed against those liberties, for 
which the most virtuous part of mankind 
have lived and died. 15 Under the auspices of 
multitudes, thus corrupted and united, it is 
not to be wondered, that the spirit of des- 
potism should increase. Despotism is in- 
deed an Asiatic plant j but brought over by 
those who have long lived in Asia, and 
nursed in a hot-house with indefatigable 
care, it is found to vegetate, bloom, and 
bear fruit, even in our cold, ungenial cli- 
mate. 

# It might then be worthy a wise legislature 
to reform the modes of education, to explode 
the effeminacy of private and superficial 
nurture, to promote an equality of rank in 
schools and universities, and to suffer, in the 
immature age, no other distinctions than 



S60 

those, wliich may be adjudged by grave-aiut 
virtuous instructors, to distinguished im- 
provement, exemplary conduct, goodness of 
heart, and a regard to the happiness of infe- 
riors. 

' The constitution of the United States is 
founded on liberty, and the people are warm- 
ly attached to liberty ; then why is it ever 
in danger, and why is a constant striiggle 
necessary to preserve it uninfringed ? And 
why is the corrupt manners, am} maxims of 
the vassals of Europe suffered to prevail iu 
our universities, as well as to be imitated? 
Many causes combine, and perhaps none is 
more operative than a corrupt education, in 
which pride is nourished at the tenderest 
period, and the possession or expectation of 
wealth and civil honours is tacitly represent- 
ed, even in the schools of virtue, as super- 
ceding the necessity of personal excellence. 5 

SECTION VI. 

THE LOVE OF LIBERTY AND VIRTUE, THK 
PARENT OP NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE 
AND RESPECTABILITY. 

f THOSE who are possessed of exorbi- 
tant power, who pant for its extension, and 
tremble at the apprehension of losing it, arQ 
always sufficiently artful to dwell with em- 
phasis, on the evils of licentiousness ; und«* 



261 

which opprobrious name, they wish to stig- 
matize liberty. They describe the horrors 
of anarchy and confusion, in the blackest 
colours ; and boldly affirm that they are the 
necessary consequences of entrusting the 
people with power. Indeed they hardly con- 
descend to recognize the idea of a people : 
but whenever they speak of the mass ot the 
community, denominate them the mob, tne 
rabble, or'the swinish multitude. Language 
is at a loss for appellatives, significant oi 
their contempt for those, who are undistin- 
guished by wealth or titles, and is obliged 
to contenUtself with such words as reptiles, 
scum, dregs, or the many-headed monster. 
« Man, that noble animal, formed with pow- 
ers capable of the sublimest virtues, possess- 
ed of reason, and tremulously alive to every 
finer feeling, is degraded by his fellow man, 
when dressed in a little brief authority, to a 
rank below that of the beasts of the held; 
for the beasts of the field are not treated 
with epithets of contumely, i;ut regarded 
with a degree of esteem. The proud gran- 
dee views the horses in his stable, and the 
dogs in his kennel, with affection, pampers 
them with food, lodges them in habitations, 
not only commodious, but luxurious ; and, 
at the same time, despises his fellow-crea 
turcs, scarcely fed, wretchedly cloathed, 



202 

and barely sheltered in the neighbouring 
cottage. And if his fellow creature dares 
to remonstrate, his complaint is contumacy 
and sedition, and his endeavour to meliorate 
his own state and that of his miserable neigh- 
bour, by .the most lawful means, downright 
treason and rebellion. 

f Villanous oppression on one hand, and 
on the other, contemptible submission ! If 
such acquieseence, under the most iniqui- 
tous inequality ; such wretchedness, without 
the privilege of complaint, is the peace, the 
order, and the tranquillity of despotism • 
then peace, order, and tranquillity change 
their nature, and become the curse and bane 
of human nature. Welcome, in comparison, 
all the feuds, animosities, and revolutions 
attributed to a state of freedom ; for they 
are symptoms of life and robust health, while 
the repose of despotism is the deadness of a 
palsy. Life, active, enterprising life, with 
all its tumult, disaster and disappointment, 
is to be preferred to the silence of death, 
the stillness of desolation. 

'But I deny that a love of liberty, or a 
State of liberty, is of necessity productive 
of injurious or fatal disorder, I presup- 
pose that the minds of the people, even the 
lowest of the people, are duly enlightened; 
that the sravageness of gross ignorance i% 



'263 

mitigated by culture ; by that culture, which 
all well regulated states arc solicitous to 
bestow on every partaker of the rational fa- 
culty. 

* In a state of liberty, every man learns 
to value himself as man; to consider -him- 
self as of importance in the system which 
himself has approved and contributed to es- 
tablish ; and therefore resolves to regulate 
his own behaviour consistently with its safe- 
ty and preservation. He feels as a pro- 
prietor, not as a tenant. He loves the state 
because he participates in it. His obedience 
is not the cold reluctant result of terror ; but 
the lively, cheerful, and spontaneous effect 
of love. The violation of laws, formed oiv 
the pure principle of general beneficence^ 
and to which lie has given his full assent^ 
by a just and perfect representation, he con- 
siders as a crime of the deepest dye. He 
will think freely, and speak freely, of the 
constitution. He will incessantly endea- 
vour to improve it ; and enter seriously into 
all political debates. In the collision of agi- 
tated minds, sparks will sometimes be emit . 
ted ; but they will oidy give a favourable 
light and a genial warmth. They will ue» 
ver produce any injurious conflagration. 

f What employment, in the busy scene in 
which man engages from the cradle to the 



264 

tomb, is more worthy of him than political 
discussion ? It affords a field for intellectu- 
al energy, and all the finest feelings of be- 
nevolence. It exercises and strengthens 
every faculty. It calls forth latent virtues, 
which else had slept in the bosom, like the 
diamond in the mine. And is this employ- 
ment, thus useful and honourable, to be con- 
fined to a few among the race of mortals ? 
Is there to be a monopoly of political action 
and speculation ? Why then did Heaven be- 
stow reason and speech, powers of activity, 
and a spirit of enterprize in as great perfec- 
tion on the lowest among the people, as on 
those who, by no merit of their own, inherit 
wealth and high station! Heaven has de- 
clared its will by its acts. Man contravenes 
it ; but time, and the progressive improve- 
ment of the understanding, will reduce the 
anomaly to its natural rectitude. And if a 
few irregularities should sometimes arise in 
the process, they are of no importance when 
weighed with the happy result ; the return 
of distorted systems to truth, to reason, and 
the will of God. Occasional ferments, with 
all their inconveniences, are infinitely pre- 
ferable to the putrescence of stagnation. 
They are symptoms of health and vigour; 
and though they may be attended with tran- 
sient pain, yet while they continue to appear 



265 

at intervals, there is no danger of mortifica- 
tion. Good hearts* accompanied with good 
understandings, seldom produce, even where 
mistaken, lasting evil. They repair and 
compensate. 

< But I repeat, that the people should be 
enlightened, in every rank, the highest as 
well as the lowest, to render them capable 
of perfect liberty, without danger of those 
evils which its enemies are always assert- 
ing to be its unavoidable consequences. 
The vulgar must be instructed not merely 
in the arts which tend to the acquisition, 
increase and preservation of money, but in 
a generous philosophy. They must be li- 
beralized. They must early learn to view 
human life and society in their just light; 
to consider themselves as essential parts of 
a whole, the integrity of which is desirable 
to every component member. Their taste 
will improve with their understanding ; and 
they will see the beauty of order, while 
they are convinced of its utility. Thus 
principled by virtue, and illuminated with 
knowledge, they will eagerly return, after 
every deviation, which even a warmth of 
virtue may cause, to regular obedience, 
and to all the functions of citizens ; valuing 
the public peace and prosperity, because 
they understand clearly that the public hap- 



pmess is intimately combined with their 
own. They may infringe laws, from the 
imperfection of their nature; bat they will 
return to their obedience without force ; 
having been convinced that no laws are 
made, but sueh as are necessary to their 
well-being in society. They will consider 
laws, not as chains and fetters, but as helm- 
ets and shields for their protection. The 
light of the understanding will correct thb 
eccentricities of the heart ; and all devia- 
tions, however rapid at their commence- 
ment, will be short in extent and transitory 
in duration. 

• Such would be the effect of enlightening 
the people with political knowledge, and en- 
larging their minds by pure philosophy. 
But what say the despots? Like the tyran- 
nical son of Philip, when he reprimanded 
Aristotle for publishing his Discoveries, 
they whisper to their myrmidons, "Let us 
diffuse darkness round the land.* Let their 
conduct, when p*ssembled, be riotous and 
durational, as ignorance and our spies can 
make it, that they may bo brought into dis- 
credit, and deemed unfit for the manage- 
ment of their own affairs. Let power be 

* Darken your Doctrines, -saicl" &er despot' ATexaffder, 
to. the great pli&QSqp"her. ' 



2ft7 

tendered dangerous in their hands, that it 
may continue unmolested in our own. — 
Let them not taste the fruit of the tree of 
knowledge; lest they become as we are, and 
learn to know good and evii. M 

1 That such are the sentiments of the men 
Whowfeh for the extension of royal ism. the 
depression of the people, and the annihila- 
tion of republicanism, is evident from the. 
uneasiness they have shewn, at all benevo- 
lent attempts to diffuse knowledge among 
the pool-. They have expressed, in terms 
of anger and mortification, their dislike of 
lay schools. The very newspapers 
which they have engaged in the service of 
falsehood and torvism, have endeavoured to 
discountenance, by malignant paragraphs, 
the progress of those patriotic institutions. 
Scribblers of hooks and pamphlets, in the 
same vile eons., have intimated their appre- 
hensions, that the poor may learn to read 
political books in learning to read their Bi- 
ble : and that the reading of political books 
must unavoidably proituce discontent. V 
wretched compliment to the cause winch 
they mean to defend ! ft is impossible not 
to infer from their apprehensions, (bat as 
men increase in understanding and know- 
ledge, they mast s •■ disapprove 
(he systems established. These men breathe 



268 

the very spirit of despotism, and wish to 
communicate it. But their conduct, in this 
instance, is an argument against the spirit 
which they endeavour to diffuse. Their con- 
duct seems to say, The spirit of despotism 
is so unreasonable, that it can never be ap- 
proved by the mass of the people, when 
their reason is suffered to receive its proper 
cultivation. Their conduct seems to say, 
Let there be light, and the deformity of des- 
potism will create abhorrence. 

6 Be the consequence what it may, let the 
light of knowledge be diffused among all 
who partake of reason ; and let us remem- 
ber that it was the Lord God Axtmightt 
who first said ; Let there be light.' 

SECTION VII. 

THE LITTLE VALUE SET ON A POOR MAN'S LIFE BY 
HAUGHTY MONARCHS. 

< THERE is nothing which lean so re- 
luctantly pardon in the great ones of this 
world, as the little value they entertain for 
the life of a man. Property, if seized or 
lost, may be restored ; and without proper- 
ty, man may enjoy a thousand delightful 
pleasures of existence. The sun shines 
as warmly on the poor as on the rich ; and 
the gale of health breathes its balsam into 
the cottage casement on the heath, no less 



26j) 

Sweetly and salubriously than into the por- 
tals of the palace. But can the lords of this 
world, who are so lavish of the lives of their 
inferiors, with all their boasted power, give 
the cold heart to beat again, or relume th(\ 
light of the eye once dimmed by the shades 
of death ? Accursed despots, shew me your 
authority for taking away that which ye ne- 
ver gave, and cannot give ; for undoing the 
work of God, and extinguishing the lamp of 
life* which was illuminated with a ray from 
heaven. Where is your charterto privilege 
uuirder ? You do the work of Satan, who 
was a destroyer ; and your right, if you 
possess any, must have originated from the 
father of mischief and misery. 

< 'There is nothing so precious as the life 
of a man- A philosopher of antiquity, who 
j)ossess«'d not the religion of philanthropy, 
who knew not that man came from heaven, 
and is to return thither : who never heard 
the, doctrine authenticated, that man is fa- 
toured with a communication of the divine 
lature by the Holy Spirit of God : yet. nn- 
$cr all these disadvantages, maintained that 
homo bst rbs sacha, that every human 
CKKVirnr. is consecrated to God, and 
therefore inviolable by his fellow man, with 
out profanation, Ail the gold of Ophir, 
Hit the gems of Golconfla, cannot huy a sin- 



270 

gle life, nor pay for its loss. It is above all 
price. 

« Yet take a view of the world, and you 
will immediately be led to conclude, that 
scarcely any thing is viler than human life. 
Crimes which have very little moral evil, 
if any, and which therefore cannot incur the 
vengeance of a just and merciful Deity, are 
punished with death at a human tribunal. 
I mean state crimes ; such actions, con- 
duct, speeches, as are made crimes by des- 
pots, but are not recognised as such in the 
decalogue ; such as may proceed from the 
purest and most virtuous principle, from 
the most enlarged benevolence, from wis- 
dom and unaffected patriotism j such as 
may proceed from mere warmth of temper, 
neither intending nor accomplishing any 
mischief; the mere effects of error, as in- 
nocent too in its consequences as its origin. 
But the despot is offended or frightened; 
for guilt trembles at the least alarm, ani 
nothing but the blood of the accused can ex- 
piate the offence. 

Yet numerous as are the innocent vic- 
tims of the tribunal, where to offend the 
state is the greatest abomination that man 
can commit, they are lost and disappear 
when compared to the myriads sacrificed to 
the demon of war. Despotism delights in 



271 

war. It is its dement. As the bull knows, 
by instinct, that his strength is in his horns, 
and the eagle trusts in his talons ; so the 
despot feels his puissance most, when sur- 
rounded by soldiery arrayed for battle. With 
the sword in his hand, and his artillery 
around him, he rejoices in his might, and 
glories in his greatness. Blood must mark 
his path ; and his triumph is incomplete, 
till death and destruction stalk over the 
land, the harbingers of his triumphant ca- 
valcade. 

* We hear much of necessary w r ars ; but it 
is certainly true, that a real, absolute, una- 
voidable necessity for war, such as alone 
can render it just, has seldom occurred in 
the history of man. 5 The reader may judge 
of my opinion of war from the subseq uent little 
poem, which I beg leave to subjoin as a 
a note.* The pride, the wanton cruelty of 

*THE BATTLE OF BLENHEIM, 

It was a summer evening, 

Old Kasper's work was done ; 
And he before his cottage door 

Was sitting in the sun ; 
And by him sported on the green 
His little grandchild Wilhemine. 

She saw her brother Peterkin 
Roll something large and round, 



272 

absolute princes, caring nothing for human 
life, have in all ages, without the least ne- 

That he beside the rivulet 

In playing there had found — 
He came to ask what he had found, 
That was so large, and smooth and round 

Old Kaspar took it from the boy, 

Who stood expectant by ; 
And then the old man shook his head 

And with a natural sigh, 
'Tis some poor fellow's skull, said he 1 , 
Who fell in the great victory. 

I find them in the garden, for 

There's many here about, 
And often when I go to plough 

The ploughshare turns them out. 
For many thousand men, said he, 
Were slain in that great victory. 

Now tell us what 'twas all about, 

Young Peterkin he cries, 
And little Wilhemine looks up 

With wonder waiting eyes ; 
Now tell us all about the war, 
And what they kilPd each other for. 

It was the English Kasper cried, 

That put the French to rout ; 
But what they killed each other for, 

I could not well make out. 
But every body said, quoth he, 
That 'twas a famous victory, 

My father liv'd at Blenheim then, 
Yon little stream hard by, 



273 

cessity, involved the world in war ; and 
therefore it is the common duty of all man- 
kind to abolish absolute power ; and to dis- 
courage, by every lawful means, the spirit 
that leads to any degree of it No individ- 

They burnt his dwelling to the ground, 

And he was forced to fly ; 
So with his wife and child he fled, 
Nor had he where to rest his head. 

With fire and sword the country round 

Was wasted far and wide, 
And many a childing mother then, 

And new-born infant died ; 
But things like that you know must be, 
At every famous victory. 

They say it was a shocking sight 

After the field was won, 
For many thousands bodies here 

Lay rotting in the sun ; 
But things like that you know must be 
At every famous victory. 

Great praise the Duke of Marlbro' won, 
And our good friend Eugene.— 

Why 'twas a very wicked thing ! 
Said little Wilhemine, 

Nay— nay — my little girl quoth he, 

It was a famous victory. 

And every body praised the Duke 

Who such a fight did win ; 
But what good came of it at last ! 

Quoth little Peterkin. 
Why that I cannot tell said he, 
But 'twas a famous victory. 



274 

nal. however good, is fit to be trusted with 
so dangerous a deposit. His goodness may 
be corrupted by the magnitude of the trust; 
and it is the nature of power nncontroled by 
fear or law, to vitiate the best disposition.— 
He who would have shuddered to spill a 
drop of blood, in a hostile contest, as a pri- 
vate man, shall deluge whole provinces, as 
an absolute prince, and laugh over the sub- 
jugated plains which he has fertilized with 
human gore. 

'What are the chief considerations with 
such men, previously to going to war, and 
at its conclusion ? Evidently the expenceof 
money. Little is said or thought of the 
lives lost, or devoted to be lost, except as 
matters of pecuniary value. Humanity in- 
deed weeps in silence and solitude, in the 
sequestered shade of private life; but is a 
single tear shed in courts, and camps, and 
cabinets ? When men high in command, 
men of fortune and family fall, their deeds 
are blazoned, and they figure in history; 
but who, save the poor widow and the or- 
phan, enquire after the very names of the 
rank and file ; There they lie, a mass of hu- 
man flesh, not so much regretted by the de- 
spots as the horses they rode, or the arms 
they bore. While ships often go down to 
the bottom, struck by the iron thunder bolts 



«o/ •/ 

of war, and not a life is saved^ the national 
loss is estimated by the despot, according 
to the weight of metal wasted, and the 
magnitude and expense of the wooden castle. 

Ploratur lachrymis amissa pecutia veris t 

< God, we read, made man in his own im- 
age : and our Saviour taught us that he was 
the heir of immortality. God made no dis- 
tinction of persons ; hut behold a being, 
born to a sceptre, though a poor, puny shiv- 
ering mortal like the rest, presumes to sell, 
and let out for hire, these images of God, to 
do the work of butchers, in any cause, and 
for anv pay -master, on any number of unof- 
fending fellow creatures, who are standing 
up in defence; of their hearths, their altars, 
their wives, their children and their liberty. 
Great numbers of men, trained to the trade 
i>f human butchery, are constantly ready to 
be let to hire, to carry on the work of des- 
potism, and to support, by the money they 
earn in this hellish employment, the luxuri- 
ous vie!* of the wretch who calls them his 
property* Can that state of human affairs 
he right and proper, which permits a mis- 
creant, scarcely worthy the name of a man, 
sunk in effeminacy, the slave of vice, often 
the most abominable kind of vice, ignoranl 
imd illiterate, debilitated with disease, weak 



S7« 

ill body as in mind, to have such dominion 
of hundreds of thousands, his superiors by- 
nature, as to let them out for pay, to mur- 
der the innocent stranger in cold blood ? 

6 What shall we think of the practice of 
what is called kidnaping ? Is it to be allow- 
ed in a free country ? Are not men bought, 
inveigled, or forced by it, as if they were 
cattle, beasts of the field or the forest, and 
capable of becoming the property of the 
purchaser or the captor ? If a nation should 
behold with patience, such a practice in- 
creasing and encouraged by the great, would 
there not be reason to suspect that it had 
lost the spirit of freedom, and was prepa- 
ring to submit its neck to the yoke of des- 
potism ? Is not an African one of the ima- 
ges of God ? Is he not entitled to all the 
rights of nature, and the society of which he 
is a member ? Does poverty disfranchise a 
man, rob him of his rights, and render his 
life a commodity to be bought and sold, or 
thrown away at the will of a rich man, who 
is enabled to take advantage of his want, 
and add to the misfortune of indigence the 
curse of slavery ? Are a few pieces of silver 
to be allowed, by connivance, if not by le- 
gal permission, as the price of blood, when 
poverty, but not the will, consents to the 
sale ?' 



377 

Even it* boxing were ever to beeome a 
spcctaele patronized by congress, and en- 
couraged by a people, there would be rea- 
son to fear lest man, as man, had lost his 
value ; lest life were estimated of little price ; 
and least the spirit of despotism were gradu- 
ally insinuating itself into the community. 
There would be reason to fear lest times, 
like those of the latter Roman emperors, 
were returning, and that men might be 
kept like wild beasts, to be brought on the 
stage and fight for public diversion, and to 
be murdered for the evening's amusement 
of fashionable lords and ladies, at an opera- 
house. 

The dignity of human nature, in dcspd- 
tical countries, is treated as a burlesque. 
A man is less dignified than a pampered 
horse, and his life infinitely less valued. 
But in a land of liberty, like ours, every 
man should learn to venerate himself and 
his neighbour, as a noble creature, depend- 
ent only on God, on reason, and on law. 

SECTION VIII. 

THE ACRIMONY MANIFESTED BY MONARCHS AND THEH 

TORY ADMIRERS, TO PATRIOTIC AUTHORS, 

A PROOF OF THEIR DEPRAVITY. 

« IT is an infallible proof of great abilities 
in a writer, who espouses the cause of the 
a a 



S78 

people, when he is cavilled at, written 
against, and condemned by the persons 
whose despotic principles he has endeavoured 
to expose and refute. It is a sign that he has 
touched them to the quick, and left a sore 
place, the smart of which is continually urg- 
ing them to murmur.* Their affected deri- 
sion and contempt of him are but transpa- 
rent veils to hide the writhings of their tor- 
tured minds ; an awkward masque to cover 
the ugly features of impotent revenge, strug- 
gling through pride, to conceal the painful 
emotions of rage. 

* It is amusing to observe what mean and 
little arts are used by these angry persons, 
to lower the character of any writer, whose 
arguments they cannot refute. They hire 
a venal tool. to write his life, and crowd it 

■with every falsehood and calumny which 
party malice can invent, and popular credu- 
lity disseminate. They relate, without ex- 
amination into a single fact, and decide, 
without the smallest attention to candor or 
justice. The man is to be hunted down. — 
The minister and his creatures cry havoc 5 
and let slip the vermin of corruption. The 

* There is but one author whose name I can give 
in the compilation of this department, but such is 
the contempt in which he is held by many, that police 
forbids me to mention it. 



279 

newspapers, in daily paragraphs, discharge 
the venom of abuse on his name. Venal 
critiques pour their acrimonious censures, in 
general terms on his compositions, which 
they could not equal, and dare not examine 
with impartiality. Nicknames are fastened 
on him ; and whenever he is spoken of, all 
additions of respect are omitted, and, in 
their place, some familiar and vulgar abbre- 
viation of his christian name is used to vil- 
ify his surname. Poor artifices indeed ! 
for while they expose the malice and weak- 
ness of those who use thctii, they leave the 
arguments and doctrines of the writer ra- 
ther confirmed than shaken by an attack so 
feeble. 

* Men who undertake to defend any thing 
contrary to the common sense and common 
interest of mankind, usually hurt the side 
they intend to defend, by promoting a dis- 
cussion, and calling forth common sense, ex- 
cited by the common interest, to defend its 
own cause. Thus Sir Robert Filmer's book 
gave rise both to Sidney's and Locke's de- 
fence of liberty. Thus Mr. Burkes Re- 
flections on France drew forth Mr. Maine's 
Rights of Man, in which is much excellent 
matter. Thus Salmasius's mercenary in- 
vective against the republicans of England 



280 

in the last century, provoked the greett 
Milton, scarcely less eloquent in prose than 
in poetry, to defend the right of the people 
of England to manage in their own country 
their own concerns, according to their own 
judgment and inclination. 

6 Milton and Locke are great names on the 
side of liberty. But Milton has been treat- 
ed contemptuously ; and some have shewn 
a spirit illiberal enough to detract from his 
poetry in revenge for his politics. His last 
biographer, Dr. Johnson, who had many 
early prejudices which his most vigorous 
reason could not to the last subdue, was, by 
early prejudice, a violent Tory and Jaco- 
bite. I think there is reason to believe, that 
he would easily have been made a convert 
to popery. I venerate his abilities and vir- 
tue; but I cannot help remarking, that 
his high-church and high-prerogative prin- 
ciples led him to speak less honourably of 
Milton than he must have done, if he had 
viewed him through a medium undiscolour- 
ed. Milton was a greater man than John- 
son ; though I think he went not sufficient- 
ly far in his hatred to monarchy and epis- 
copacy. Milton discovered a noble spirit 
of independence, and his writings contain 
some of the finest passages that ever wero 
written in vindication of civil liberty. 



SUPPLEMENT 

TO THE 

CHARMS OF BENEVOLENCE. 



I HAVE in the preceding pages, used a 
bold, and perhaps some will think, an impo- 
lite phraseology. But I contend that in or- 
der to alarm the heedless of their danger, 
the author who writes for the good, and not 
the praise of mankind, should forego the 
etiquette of politeness ; and being equally in- 
different to the smiles or frowns of his rea- 
ders, he should plainly point out the cause, 
the consequence, and the cure of the moun- 
tains of human misery observable in the 
world. This I have sincerely endeavoured 
to do in this work. Taught by my own 
miseries which are many, I have burned to 
pity the miserable. But of all the miseries 
i meet with in this miserable world, those 
particularized in the 7th chapter of Romans, 
arc the most intolerable. Let any person 
read that chapter, and he will be constrain- 
ed to acknowledge, that the numerous ills in- 
terwoven with our frame, are sufficient for 
the patient endurance of man, without manu- 
Aa2 



283 

faeturing more by premature and precipitate 
marriages, which I call the source of domes- 
tic wretchedness, and the parent of moral 
evil ; as also inattention to the political rights 
of man, which produce national wretched- 
ness, and degradation. In pointing out 
the miseries of monarchy, and the unge- 
nerosity of toryism, I have perhaps mani- 
fested too much acrimony. If this is really 
the case, I humbly beg the reader's pardon, 
and I hope he will do me the justice to be- 
lieve me, when 1 solemnly declare, that no- 
thing but an ardent desire to promote the 
happiness, and alleviate the miseries of 
mankind, has led me into this error. I 
hope therefore, that the purity of my mo- 
tives, will plead my excuse. I love civil 
liberty, and I love America, because, it is 
the only land, where liberty has found an 
assylum, after being chased round the globe, 
and banished from every other land, by the 
unrelenting spirit of despotism, Alas ! no 
language can tell, no imagination can con- 
ceive, the dreadful consequences produced by 
this direful cause. Millions of men every 
year must be butchered in the field of battle 
to gratify the pride and petulence of monar- 
chy. But it is not the plebeian's tranquillity 
alone, that is sacrificed at the shrine of des- 
potism. The despot himself, is the victim 



B83 

of his own designs. He counteracts the be- 
neficenee of nature, and consequently relin- 
quishes that peace of mind, which can only 
produce happiness. For it is one of the 
fundamental laws of heaven, that no man 
can ever find happiness in the misery of 
man. Hence, while the pimps, and para- 
sites of royalty are cloyed with a super- 
abundance of the necessaries of life, forced 
from the mouth of labour, the poor and the 
needy perish for the want of their portion 
of these necessaries, which nature has abun- 
dantly provided for the comfortable sup- 
port of all her children. But monarchy 
has not only a direct tendency to destroy 
the happiness of its votaries, by taking away 
the relish which mediocrity gives for the 
good things of life, and which superabun- 
dancy most assuredly takes away, but proves 
the most fatal and successful auxiliary of 
hell, to destroy their future, as well as pre- 
sent peace. And yet people will talk about 
religion,* and profess sanctification, and 

• Compare the recent measures of Massachusets 
and Connecticut, with the above sentiment, and the 
danger I deprecate, will appear as clear as a raj of 
light in an unclouded atmosphere. And can we won- 
der that liberty is in danger, when tory priests have 
such unbounded influence over the mindj of their 
priest-ridden congregations. When such ministers 
as Dr. Parrish, are allowed to preach treason from the 



284 

at the same time adtocate with all their 
interest and eloquence, this first-born child i 
of hell, and prime minister of Satan ; I mean 
monarchy. Yes, even those who profess to 
he the ambassadors of the meek and lowly 
Jesus, arrayed in sacerdotal silk and cam- 
brick, and mounted in a superb pulpit, 
fringed with flowers of gold, with their fin- 
gers on the holy bible, and the sacred name 
of God on their tongues, vindicate the cause 
of the royal traitors, and right reverend ty- 
rants of mankind, and this too, in the only 
republic the ravages of monarchy and epis- 
copacy has left in the world. Such exhibitions 
as tins, with the increasing power of tory- 
ismL and partyism in the United States, sound 
in my intellectual ear, .the km 11 of our de- 
parted greatness. Another circumstance I 
would mention, which is a presage (at least 
to me) of our future fall, and that is the in- 
sacred pulpit, as well as disseminate it in private, wUh 
apr.lause, as well as impunity, which will be seen in 
our first department : can we then be surprised, that 
Massachusetts, where this torv parson resides, should 
oppose the national government : should degrade the 
national standard, and should resist the constituted au- 
thorities, Nay, but it is rather matter of surprise, that 
the whole American population, are not metamorphosed 
to tories by their tory priests; and this would actually 
"be the case, if all the people were the stoves of bigot-. 
try, and superstition. 



285 

difference with which republicans view the 
recent improvement the clerical tribe have 
made in. title-making (not tent making like 
their pious predecessor Saint Paul) in the 
United States. Would the degenerate sons 
of valiant and independent sires, duly ap- 
preciate the intrinsic value of that liberty, 
which they died to purchase, and bequeath 
to posterity as a most sacred deposit. Would 
the people of America but for a mo- 
ment view in the historic page, the slow? 
but certain, the plausible but insidious man- 
ner in which the votaries of monarchy, an- 
nihilated the republics of antiquity, the un- 
welcome intelligence, that an archbishop* 
was manufactured in the state of ******** f 
would cause their very ears to tingle. Is it 
any wonder then, that I am so pointed in my 
animadversions, while I am sensible, that 
the liberty I love is in danger of being 
infringed by the subtle arts of aristocracy* 

* The title of archbishop of England, is above the 
title (or rather the nick-name) of duke. 

+ Delicacy forbids me to mention this American arch- 
bishop's name, or even the name of the city or state 
where he resides I wish he had the same delicacy for 
the feelings of his fellow citizens, many thousands of 
whom he has caused to offend by assuming this foolish 
title, or rather nick-name. O how unlike St. Paul, 
who dictated, if eating meat would cause his weak 
brother to offend, he would never eat any. 



286 

No ! but it is rather a wonder* (if I may be 
allowed the hyperbole) the stones in the 
street do not lament to see* the last remains 
of civil liberty in danger oi being extermin- 
ated from the face of the earth, through the 
indefatigable assiduity of her enemies, and 
the lassitude and licentiousness of her 
friends. The heroic and patriotic chief, who 
achieved our independence, was deeply sen- 
sible of the danger I deprecate. Alas! when 
I view with my intellectual eyes, the accu- 
mulated and complicated misery, which the 
human family are forced this very moment 
to endure in Europe, Asia, and Africa*, 
through the influence of tory priests, co-op- 
erating with tory politicians, and when I ex- 
tend that view to the future fate of America, 
and behold her nodding to her fall, through 
the instrumentality of this very influence, 
and also see liberty taking her flight from 
this unhappy globe; the tragical view causes 
my very heart almost to weep blood, the an- 
ticipation makes me weep, and tremble by 
turns. And shall the palladium of our far- 
famed independence, be sacrificed at the 
shrine of monarchy ? Shall the bloody flag of 
military, and hereditary despotism surmount 
our sacred cap of liberty? Shall our inimi- 
table constitution, the price of so much he- 
roic and patriotic blood, become the victim 



S87 

of toryism ? Finally, shall the proverbial in- 
telligence of the American population by 
land, and their intrepidity by sea,* be igno- 
bly doomed to purchase laurels to deck some 
royal or imperial tyrant's brow ? The peo- 
ple only can answer the melancholy interro- 
gation. If they use the means, heaven has 
put it in their power, (and which I in this 
work sincerely recommend) to keep down 
tlw spirit of despotism, alias toryism, they 
will rival the Roman republic in all hefc 
greatness; but if not, they will, and that be- 
fore a great many years, become the pre- 
mature victim of their own lassitude, and 
-degeneracy. When 1 view a tory nation, a 
tory politician, but above all, a tory priest, 
the spontaneous distich of a sentimental 
poet, now no more, forcibly strikes my mind, 
and which I repeat with a mournful empha- 
sis, thus, 

«« Man's inhumanity to man, 
Makes countless thousands mourn." 

Should any say that my fears are prema- 
ture, and only the offspring of my enthu- 
siastic attachment to liberty, and America, 

* I believe, and predict, that whether free or in sla- 
very, the American tars, and their navy, will in follow- 
ing years, bt what the British aTe now. 



288 

Jet them for one moment compare the pre- 
sent posture of our national affairs, the low- 
ring clouds in our political horizon, and the 
virulence of partyism, and the influence of 
toryism in the United States, with the be- 
nevolent and patriotic caution of our illus- 
trious Washington, and then condemn, or 
even censure me if they can. 

Who can read these lines, and not see, 
that the danger foreseen by our lamented 
chief, is realized too obviously in the pre- 
sent crisis* 

That his fears may never be realized in 
all their horrors, that we may be enabled to 
rise superior to the fatal influence of tory- 
ism, that we nor our posterity may never 
become the pimps and parasites of monar- 
chy, or the victims of promiscuous lust, and 
continual bloody wars, the natural conse- 
quences thereof, is my ardent prayer to the 
gracious Creator* But if we are doomed to 
this fatal end, by our own neglect, pusilla- 
nimity, and impolicy, all I can pray is, 

4t That I may lay cold, before that dreadful day, 
Prest with a load of monumental clay." 



END OF THE CHARMS OF BENEVOLENCE. 



A BEAM 

or 

CELESTIAL LIGHT, 

IN A 

PARK, DELUDED, AXD DEGENERATE 
AGE; 

OR 

EPISTLES, 

CONSOLATORY, ARGUMENTATIVE, AND 
INSTRUCTiVE: 

ADDRESSED 
Ttt THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN THE WILDERNESS. 

Interspersed, with expostulations, exhortations, «A 

Messages, " in the word of the Lord, 

7b the lost sheep of the House of Christendom. 

. And to the <~£X£#&Et$R ttSWSWBl 

PHILADELPHIA : 
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. 

1814. 



ADVERTISEMENT 



AS an apology for our title, which, notwithstanding' 
its excentricity, is an echo to the sense of the perfor- 
mance, I would beg leave to observe, that although 
every individual seer and denomination, contend that 
theirs is the only true church, it is my confident belief, 
that the true church of Christ is no were on earth to be 
found, as a community, or body politic. For God has 
long ago withdrew her into the wilderness, to be safe 
from the face of the serpent. Some sects, I allow, are 
less contaminated by an anti -christian or a bigotted pirit, 
than others 5 but not one of them are thoroughly pur* 
ged therefrom, but are more or less actuated (especially 
in worldly prosperity) by this evil spirit. 

But this they cannot, or rather will not believe, though 
one should arise from the dead and declare it unto them. 
Indeed, those individuals as well as sects, who are 
most contaminated by a bigoted, sectarian, and anti- 
chnstian spirit, have the best opinion of themselves 
and their associates ; and will cry peace, peace, both in 
life and death, when swift destruction is coming upon 
them, which I hope to make manifest in the follow- 
ing epistles : to which his pamphlet is merely an intro- 
duction. My language herein, will differ materially 
from that in my other works, which is in genera! too 
flowery, but I feel not inclined to use such language 
any more ; but, that which is most simple and plain. 

I had proposed, and promised to publish, the 5th edi- 
tion of my "Charms of Benevolence," and therefore 
must fulfil that promise. Many things which I have 
done in my former state, and which even the religious 
world think innocent and harmless, the spirit of 
Christ now forbids me to do : and the light of Christ, 
while I walk in it, gives me clearly to see, although 
only a babe in the true religion, are both inconrenient 
and unprofitable. 

Philadelphia, Dec, 18, 1813- 



A BEAM 

OF 

CELESTIAL LIGHT. 

CHAP, I. 

The Author's christian experience* particularly 
as it relates to his spiritual call to seek the lost 
sheep of the House of Christendom. 

It is impressed on my mind fmm the Lord, 
briefly to relate in the simplicity and sincer- 
ity of my heart, a sketch of my christian ex- 
perience,* for the encouragement, comfort, 
and consolation of my brethren who may be 
exercised as I have been. 

From the age of about ten or twelve years, 
the good spirit of the Lord, has been striving 
with me ; when it appeared to me, that 1 loved 

* Let not the worldly wise man view these simple 
strictures with the side glance of contemptuous dsregard, 
but let him rather give God glory for his intintte mercy 
to sinners in general, and tome the chief of sinners in par- 
ticular ; and let him also recollect wiihsolemn seriousness, 
that the eyes that read, and the hand that wrote these 
epistles will soon and shortly be set in death, and inactive 
in the grave. 



292 

him above all other things. I used to resolve, 
that when I arrived at manhood, I would en- 
deavour to promote his glory and the good of 
my fellow creatures; hence, when about four- 
teen years of age, I commenced writing a 
short piece, (though ill qualified for such 
an undertaking,) in order to shew the gra- 
cious dispensations of Providence to me : yet 
was I a bigotted sectarian, and could almost 
assassinate any one who spoke against my 
professional denomination, which was the 
Roman Catholic; and a strict one I was, 
keeping a book in which I wrote down my sins, 
in order to confess them to the priest with 
more facility. But when I was about the age 
of sixteen years, my father, through the in- 
fluence of a step-mother, (and, indeed, all 
my bigoted relations forsook uie,) I had to 
leave home, and face a frowning world, help- 
less, homeless, and almost pennyless. Then 
indeed, the Lord took me as his own adopted 
son ; and this apparent misfortune, was only 
a blessing in disguise ; for by this dispensa- 
tion, I was cured of my Roman bigotry and 
superstition. And oh ! blessed forever be 
the name of the Lord, for his gracious mercy 
and favours conferred upon me at this event- 
ful period of my life : for he directed and 
protected me, while visiting divers nations, 
kingdoms, cities, towns and states, in Eu- 



293 

rope, Africa and America : and never did I 
want any good thing in all my travels. Oh ! 
that I may always prove faithful and grate- 
ful, to so gracious a benefactor. 

Was I to point out the divers dangers and 
vicissitudes I passed through, in my voyages 
and travels, this chapter would be itself a 
volume. But I feel on my mind only to men- 
tion those incidents, which relate to my chris- 
tian experience, and that with great brevity. 
After visiting Russia, Prussia, Denmark, 
Norwav, Spain, England, Ireland, Scotland, 
Africa,* &c I sailed on board the Betsey, 
captain Gilbert, from Jamaica to the bay of 
Honduras, and from thence to Bermuda, 
with a load of mahogany. Captain Gilbert 
would not pay me one dollar, out of about 
sixty that he owed me for wages ; and no 
vessels, at least very few, but privateers 
sailing out of that Island, it being the com- 
mencement of the French war, I was neces- 
sitated to ship on board of the brig Lamp, often 
guns and sixty men. We cruised off the 
harbours of Cape Francoise and Port-au- 
Prince, from whence the rich planters were 
making their escape, with all their wealth, 
in American vessels, from the fury of the ne- 
groes, who were at this time in a state of 
insurrection. And while these unfortunate 
persons were thus sailing for American ports* 
Bb2 



294 

we constantly captured and robbed them of 
all their property. We took home some very 
rich prizes of this description. While I was 
on board of this privateer, however, I was 
enabled to see, by the light of the good spirit 
of Grace, (although no better than an en- 
lightened heathen) that privateering was as 
wicked in the sight of heaven, as high-way 
robbery, hence I relinquished all my prize- 
money, which would have amounted to several 
thousand dollars,* and sailed on board of a 
cartel to the West Indies; where I engaged 
as an overseer on a sugar plantation, and con- 
tinued there ten months. 

From thence I removed to a larger plan- 
tation, and engaged as an under-overseer, 
but was soon advanced to be head-overseer, 
and was in a fair way of further promotion. 
But here I got convinced of the great evil 
of slavery, (having previously joined a reli- 
gious society) and saw that those who took 
any act or part therein, were guilty of op- 
pression in the sight of God. Hence, al- 
though my religious friends, and even the 
Methodist preachers, who generally kept 
slaves, all advised me to continue in my em- 
ployment, I was, however, necessitated by 

* One privateer's-man in Bermuda, gained 100,000 
dollars prize-money. 



S95 

conscience, to give it up ; a certainty for an 
uncertainty, " The world before me, and 
Providence my guide. 5 ' 

I was about four years a planter in Anti- 
gua ; and had I continued in that employment, 
I would, in all likelihood, have been advan- 
ced to what the world calls a gentleman; but 
I prefered virtue clothed in rags, to vice ar- 
rayed in costly apparel. 

After this I sailed from the West Indies to 
Europe, and from thence to America, where 
the vessel, on board of which my property 
was shipped, was cast away, at the Capes of 
Delaware, and I lost it all, my clothes excep- 
ted, and I was robbed of them by one of the 
passengers, who also robbed me of two silver 
watches, one of which I detected in his fob, 
and my apparel on his back ; of course I re- 
covered a part of my clothes, and one watch, 
and advised the man, who was a friend by 
profession, not to do so any more, as in a 
strange land, by acting in this manner, he 
would ruin his character and come to nothing. 
This was all the punishment I inflicted on 
this bad man, thinking it right to do good for 
evil ; I being at that time, what the world calls 
a religious person. I can but admire the in- 
finite goodness and wisdom of my good God, 
in this afflictive dispensation of his gracious 
providence : while chief-overseer, I became 



296 

exceedingly proud, having an elegant horse 
to ride upon, a servant to follow me, and be- 
ing eloathed in gay and even foppish appa- 
ral, and having every accommodation to 
make life agreeable, and no labour, it was ab- 
solutely necessary, in order to crucify my 
proud spirit, to reduce me to poverty in a 
strange land. 

About three years after my arrival in Phi- 
ladelphia, A. D. 1801, it was on my mind to 
preach the gospel ; which I did with the ap- 
probation and consent of one of the most pi- 
ous sects in America, to which I then belong- 
ed. I used to visit and preach to the poor 
and the needy, the halt, the maimed and the 
blind, in the Bettering-house ; and scarcely 
missed one sabbath in about two years. It 
was on my mind, about six years after my 
arrival in Philadelphia* to wit, A. D. 1804, 
to bear a testimony against slavery, from the 
press, as well as from the pulpit ; and it is 
truly astonishing, how my good God qualified 
me for this service : for I was assuredly 
destitute of every natural qualification, neces- 
sary to appear before the public as an author. 
Little school learning, less natural capacity, 
and scarcely common sense ; but the Almigh- 
ty generally makes use of such poor, igno- 
rant, destitute creatures, to confound the wis- 
dom of the wise men, and mighty men of this 



297 

world, that no man might glory in man, but 
Christ might be all in all to the glory of God. 
I look back with surprise and gratitude, 
upon the patronage I met with as an author. 
The first work I published, was « A Prelim- 
inary Essay on the oppression of the exiled 
Sons of Africa :" duodecimo, 280 pages; 
which was very well received. The next 
was entitled " Avenia ; or a tragical poem, 
on the oppression of the human species :" 
duodecimo, 358 pages ; which was published 
by a printer in Philadelphia, and a booksel- 
ler in New York, a worthy Friend, whom I 
highly respect ; which was also well receiv- 
ed. The next was called " The Penitential 
Tyrant ; or a Slave Trader reformed :" a 
pathetic poem ; 300 pages 18 mo. 2nd Edi- 
tion, published by the above bookseller in 
New York ; which, with «f Serious Remon- 
strances," 130 pages 12 mo. was patronised 
by a generous public. These were all testi- 
monials against Slavery. After this I con- 
tinued in my weak way, to write on other 
subjects, what 1 conceived would be useful 
to mankind, and would promote the glory 
of my good God : such as " The Flowers of 
Literature," 324 pages ; " Female Charac- 
ter," 324 pages ; " Political and Theological 
Disquisitions on the Signs of the Times," 216 
pages; "Beauties of Philanthropy," 368 



298 

pages j " Excellency of Virtue," 228 pages ; 
*•' Intellectual Telescope," 212 pages ;" 
'* Pleasures of Death, contrasted with the 
Miseries of Human Life," 300 pages, pub- 
lished by a bookseller in Philadelphia ; all 
of which were well received, and some pas- 
sed through different editions. These things 
I feel moved to mention, that my adorable 
Redeemer's blessed name may be glorified, 
wiio enabled such a poor contemptible, igno- 
rant, weak and depraved sinner, as me, to 
bear repeated testimonies, I hope, to his ho- 
nour and glory. 

In 1810, the 2nd and 3rd editions of 
"The Flowers of Literature," were put to 
press, 6,000 copies in one year : about which 
time, I felt a great concern on my mind, for 
the relief, the comfort and conversion of the 
sons and daughters of misery and misfortune, 
in our wretched lanes and alleys ; tens of 
thousands of whom, hear no more of the glo- 
rious gospel, than the wild Indians on the 
banks of the Ohio. Not having suitable 
apparel, they neglect attending places of pub- 
lic worship, till it becomes, as it were natu- 
ral ; as it becomes habitual for them and 
their children, thus to neglect attending any 
meeting to hear the gospel preached, hence 
they never hear the name of the blessed Je- 
sus mentioned, in life or death, butinimprc- 



299 

cations or blasphemy. I was given to see 
their wretched condition at that time, more 
clearly than I can now find words to express ; 
as also, the great inhumanity, criminality, 
and inconsistency, of the clerical tribe, who 
receive superabundant salaries to preach the 
gospel, and yet suffer their poor unhappy 
fellow mortals, to go head-foremost to hell, by 
tens of thousands, without calling them to re- 
pentance, according to the special command of 
him they call their Lord and Saviour, and 
whom they profess to be called by, to preach 
his blessed gospel : and who commands them 
thus : " Freely as ye have received, freely 
give." It was also given me to see the ab- 
surdity of our Missionary Societies, who send 
ministers to preach to the Indians and Asia- 
tics, while their own miserable neighbours, 
in our lanes and alleys, are perishing for 
lack of spiritual knowledge. At that time 
it was impressed upon my mind, that if all 
the other ministers of the gospel neglected this 
important labourof love, it was my duty to use 
my weak endeavours, to comfort and con- 
vert from the error of their ways, these my 
poor unhappy fellow sinners ; who have no eye 
to pity, or hand to help them. Hence, I did at- 
tempt to preach to them in theirwretchedlanes 
and alleys ; but my faith being weak, and not 
being delivered from a man-fearing spirit. 



300 

iiesli and blood shrunk from the cross ; hence, 
I laboured under the most bitter remorse of 
conscience, for my disobedience. Sometimes 
I was enabled to take up my cross, and fol- 
low Jesus, and preach his word to the mise- 
rable, who would be much tendered and mel- 
ted into tears. One time in particular, it 
was on my mind to speak a few words of 
admonition, among the miserable inhabitants 
near a place called Guinea-hill. I went three 
times to the place, and endeavoured to open 
my mouth, but in vain, the cross was too hea- 
vy, and nature shuddered and shrunk from 
it ; no tongue can tell how miserable I felt at 
that time. I was going^ away wretched, de- 
jected and disobedient, when a voice seemed 
to declare to me, that if I disobeyed the voice 
of the Lord this time, he would assuredly 
give me up to the fury of Satan and sin : be-» 
ing tormented like a devil within, I turned 
back to the stand, and shut my eyes close, 
and began to sing a long hymn, which begins 
thus : 

" And am I born to die," &c. 

After which I prayed, and never once open- 
ed my eyes till I was done ; when I beheld 
a smart company gathered round me, to 
whom I spoke. Some seemed much tendered. 



301 

and others melted to tears ; amongst the lat- 
ter was a learned deist. Some offered me 
money, but I told them I could not, nor never 
did take money for preaching. Being thus 
obedient, a mountain of misery was removed 
from my mind. I sometimes after this, took 
up this mighty cross, but it was with reluc- 
tance, because I had not given up all for 
Christ, and neither came to his light, nor 
walked in it. 

The last time I took up my cross and obey- 
ed the voice of my good shepherd, was in 
company with another friend. I began to 
speak to the poor black and white people 
near Persion road, in Southwark ; who were 
attentive and tendered. A few minutes after 
in Hurst street, we both spoke, w r hcre the 
people seemed much affected; from thence we 
went to the corner of Plumb and Fourth 
streets, among the chief of sinners; where 
the devil raged with great fury, the sons of 
Belial rushed upon us with great rage, swore 
vengeance, and would have murdered my 
companion, but he had made his escape by a 
back door from the enraged populace. After 
this, I shrunk altogether from this dreadful 
cross, of course, the Almighty in his just 
displeasure, gave me up (according to his 
word) to Iho fury of Satan and sin. Then 
c c 



302. 

was I miserable indeed, God hid his counte- 
nance from me, while the devil raged with 
unbridled fury, gloried in my fall, and seem- 
ed to smile at the tears I shed. 

About this time, being under the influence 
of a spirit of pride, I had a misunderstanding 
with a minister belonging to the same deno- 
mination to which I belonged, an excellent 
man, of the first rate talents, whose shoe- 
strings I now see I was not worthy to stoop 
down and unloose. Hence, because this re- 
spectable minister, who also is a skilful phy- 
sician, would not make concessions to me, 
where I was the chief delinquent, I got of- 
fended, and left this respectable denomina- 
tion, of whom I was a member fifteen years, 
and a minister about ten years. But I yet 
love them, and always will respect them, and 
wish their prosperity : and as they have been* 
may they continue to be- — a blessing to thou- 
sands and tens of thousands of their fellow 
creatures. 

But even out of this evil the Lord has 
brought much good. Had I continued a mem- 
ber of even this respectable society, I would 
never have been delivered from my sectarian 
predilection, as also my bigotry, of which I 
had no small share ; of course, these two for- 
midable barriers would, most assuredly, have> 



303 

precluded the light of the Holy Spirit from 
shining fully and effectually upon my mind ; 
for had an angel declared to me four years 
ago, that I was a bigoted sectarian, I would 
not have believed him. 

But although I backslid in life, I did not 
backslide in heart. I loved the Lord above 
all things, although I lived beneath his frown, 
and was daily tormented by the impetuosity 
of my passions, and the devil's temptations. 
At night I laid down in a bed of sorrow, and 
in the morning I rose up in a cloud of grief. 
My misery may be conceived, but cannot be 
expressed : Sin was tormenting to me, and 
yet was I eaptivatcd by sin ; I desired above 
all things to please God, and promote his 
glory, and would sooner far be in a dungeon 
with him, than be in, and possess heaven 
without him. In short, my whole happiness, 
delight and glory, exclusively, consisted in 
promoting his glory ; and yet against him 1 
sinned, and from him strayed. I was as a 
man starving to death with hunger, in the 
midst of all kinds of delicious food, or perish- 
ing with thirst in a transparent river, when 
he is immersed up to his chin in the water. 
Divers times 1 have been on the brink of de- 
spair, when God has given me a glimpse of 
hope, and saved me from total destruction: 



304« 

Yea, I have been clivers times unable to at- 
tend to my temporal business, and also have 
been tempted to commit suicide, through the 
agony and torture of my mind. Last winter I 
abstained from all pleasant food for three 
weeks, and struggled in prayer that the Lord 
would restore to me the joys of his salvation* 
and the light of his countenance, which I had 
forfeited by my disobedience. This he mea- 
sureabiy did; I enjoyed his grace a few 
months, in which time I published the fourth 
edition of my f Celestial Comforter," 260 
pages, enlarged ; the fifth edition of which, 
3000 copies, is now in press. 

But, alas ! I could not get the consent of 
my will to give up all, as also self, for Christ, 
and take up this mighty cross and follow him. 
Hence I soon relapsed into disorder, misery 
and sin. 

Yet in all this time of sorrow and desolation, 
I endeavoured to promote the glory of God 
in my publications, and to stimulate his true 
ministers, to pity and seek in the lanes and 
alleys the lost sheep of the house of Christen- 
dom. With this view, I issued from the press 
my " Concise View T of the different Religious 
Denominations, with notes, political and phi- 
losophical," 324< pages. Last year, three 
editions of my « Rights of God," 360 pages. 



305 

and *,000 copies was put to press; such 
was the rapid demand for them. In that 
work I also endeavour to stimulate the true 
ministers of Christ to seek the lost sheep of 
the house of Christendom; as also in my 
*'< Charms of Benevolence/ 5 fourth edition, 
360 pages, printed and sold this year; the 
fifth edition of which is now in the press, 2000 
copies. 

A few months ago I had to go to Maryland 
and Virginia, to attend to my business, and 
endeavour to recover a hundred and forty 
dollars, a bad man, whom 1 trusted with my 
property, had defrauded me of. While I tar- 
ried in Baltimore, I was grievously afflicted 
in mind, so that it appeared to me I could not 
live and endure it; after which I was afflicted 
in body, (as well as mind,) by a virulent in- 
flammation. I prayed to the Lord in my 
great distress, and I promised to do better if 
he would but try me once more; and accord- 
ing to his wonted kindness, he comforted me 
with a sense of his love, in the midst of my 
affliction ; and on my bed of languishing, 
when and where I wrote the following spon- 
taneous verses, expressive of my views and 
feelings at that time, which I will humbly take 
the liberty to transcribe in their native sim- 
plicity, although the versification is excecd- 
cc2 



306 
ing imperfect, being written on a bed of pain: 

THE PENITENTIAL MOURNEr's REPROOF AND 
CONSOLATION. 

s Twas on a high hill* near the Falls of the Schuylkill, 

I sat myself down in one sweet summer's day ; 
The birds were al! tuning their beautiful voices, 

And the little white lambkins all join'd in the lay. 
Alas! lovely birds, 1 exclaim -d with keen anguish, 

O that I was like you to join in your song, 
I'd raise my glad notes in praise to my Maker, 

In some lonesome grove, and I'd never do wrong. 

But I'm curst with a heart always prone to do evil, 

I'm tempted by Satan, and cheated by men ; 
When I would do good, I find evil present, 

And the good I do not, but continually sin. 
Hence sweet birds and lambs, and sweet fragrant roses, 

Have all lost their sweetness and charms with me, 
The beautiful summer is dreary as winter, 

My sweetest Redeemer, while banish 'd from thee. 

Thus I made my lament, while the tears roll'd down freely, 

And eas'd my poor heart of a mountain of grief, 
When I thought I beheld the source of my comfort, 

Approach me in grandeur, exceeding belief: 
He spoke, and his voice was far sweeter than music, 

" My poor distress'd creature, why do you thus doubt, 
Oh trust in my mercy, hope in my salvation, 

And all thy fierce foes will be put to the rout. 

* I have repeatedly taken my horse, and rode along the 
banks of the Schuylkill, in my miserable and disconsolate 
state, particularly the above-named hill, when the vernal 
beauties of Spring had all lost their beauties with me : yet 
even then, has at times, a beam of light and love broken in 
upon my troubled mind. 



307 

fct Thy gracious Redeemer permits thy affliction, 

To wean thy affections from all things below ; 
Satan tempts you to-day, I reward you to-morrow, 

Then trust in my promise and vanquish thy foe. 
I'm delicate in Jove, and never will endure 

A heart that's divided between earth and me : 
The ungrateful proud rebel I cannot, away with ; 

But poor weeping mourner, I do pity thee. 

fi Believe me, these trials, which seem so distressing, 

Are nothing bur blessings disguised to your view ; 
Then bear your afflictions with meekness and patience, 

They are sent as instructors to sinners like you : 
Though many strange things on earth you behold, 

Yet always be sure that your Maker is just ; 
Hence, taught by my council, believe your Redeemer, 

And what you can't see through, O learn for to trust. 

*' Ah how can you doubt my great loving kindness. 

When all my past mercies are brought to your view, 
Say, did I. not groan and die on Mount Calvary ? 

For penitent sinners who are weeping like you. 
Have I not protected you from the beginning, 

Since you hung defenceless on your mother's breast ? 
Through the dangers of youth, and the snares of your man- 
hood, 

I've been your safe-guard, and by me you've been blest. 

*' While trav'ling strange lands, and sailing the ocean, 

My care has protected and brought you safe through, 
You very well know, when you have been naked, 

Or hungry, or dry, I provided for you : 
Then how can you doubt my future protection, 

When all my past mercies are brought to your view ; 
Believe me! believe me, my poor weeping mourner, 

I languished, and died on Mount Calvary, for you." 



308 

My gracious, my precious, my glorious Redeemer ! 

Your voice it is music, your love it is heaven, 
Your words are all true, and your mercy is boundless, 

No tongue can express the great favours you've given* 
Were you always nigh. I'd always rejoice, 

And smile at temptation, and sorrow, and pain ; 
Yes, from this blest moment I'll trust thee my Saviour, 

And never will doubt in thy mercy again. 

I should not have introduced the foregoing 
imperfect lines of poetry, did they not exact- 
ly delineate my feelings, while laying on my 
bed of affliction; not so much on account of 
their imperfect versification, as an impres- 
sion I feel on my mind, that it is a carnal 
custom to write on religion in rhyme, and of 
course, not agreeable to the Spirit of Truth. 

My good God, blessed be his holy name ! 
was pleased to hear and answer my prayer, 
and rebuke my disorder, so that I recovered 
my health. But, alas ! I still was unwilling 
to prove obedient to my gracious benefactor, 
or rather my native pride and impetuosity 
shrunk with horror from the cross. Hence, 
in about three weeks I was taken down again, 
by a more malignant disorder, a virulent 
canceric affection, which greatly alarmed me. 
My ingratitude to God now stared me in the 
face, like ten thousand infernal gnashing fu- 
ries. I saw the magnitude of my criminali- 
ty, and was confounded and ashamed before 



309 

God. I could not rest in one position scarce- 
ly for a moment ; the pains of hell took hold 
on me, and, like Jonah, I cried to God out of 
the belly of hell. And notwithstanding my 
great unworthiness, and manifold transgres- 
sions, he once more heard my humble pray- 
er, and again rebuked my disorder. Hence, 
my heart was filled with divine gratitude, 
and I surrendered my all, and myself also, at 
discretion to the will of my gracious God. 
Be astonished, O angels and men ! at the in- 
finite condescension and mercy of Jehovah, to 
a wretch like me, and give him glory for the 
same. When I thus got the full consent of 
my own will, to be any thing or nothing for 
Christ's sake, to deny myself, take up my 
cross, and follow him, and to sacrifice all the 
vain things that charmed me most, then, and 
not till then, floods of heavenly light darted 
into my mind, and I saw myself, my fellow 
sinners, and particularly the scriptures, in a 
different point of view from what I ever saw 
them before. I was like a man, bread and 
born in a dark dungeon, when he first is 
brought to view the sun. My mind was tran- 
quil, and my body could remain in one pos- 
ture for hours. 

While in this state of mind, laying on my 
T>cd of affliction, the word of the Lord again 



310 

came to me, and my duty was clearly point- 
ed out to me. It was particularly impressed 
upon my mind, that I should forsake all my 
former associates — that I should be a stran- 
ger and pilgrim on the earth — that I should 
forsake all, come out of all, and by no means 
consult with flesh and blood; that I should 
walk in the straight and narrow way, and in 
order thereunto, that I must pluck out my 
right eye, and cut off my right hand : that is, 
to forego the food that I loved best, as also 
the drink,* namely, flesh and strong drink — 
even small beer I was forbidden the use of. 

* The reader will please to take notice, that I do not 
consider, much less assert, that it is unlawful to make 
use of any food or drink that is wholesome and nourish- 
ing. Yet, at the same time, I conceive fasting or absti- 
nence a most excellent means to be used with prayer, in 
order to conquer our proud hearts, and depraved wills. 
And those who are led by the good Spirit, will no doubt 
he given to see, ihat it is a positive duty to use this use- 
ful means. The prophet Daniel, for along time lived 
upon dates and figs, from a conscientious motive. For 
my part, I am clearly convinced, it is my duty to use it, 
particularly under my present trial, namely, the burthen 
of the word of the Lord. Few can form any conception 
of the greatness of this cross, and those few must have 
laboured under the same trials as the prophet Jonah la- 
boured under, when he was commanded to prophecy the 
downfall of Nineveh: The epithet he dreaded 
i am assured of. Some people will say he is an 
enthusiast, (though not those who have read my pa-* 



311 

These impressions I felt willing* and, with 
divine aid, was resolved to obey. Moreover, 
it was clearly revealed to me, that I must be 
ready to go where the Lord commanded, as 
well as speak and write what he commanded, 
and no more; and I very clearly saw, that a 
woe was denounced against me, if I again 
disobeved the voice of the Lord. These 
things'l mention, that if I should draw back 
to perdition, all may see and admire the 
justice and goodness of God. I well know, 
that almost every professor of religion in this 
age, will look upon these impressions as rank 
enthusiasm, madness, or delusion, and this 
simple mode of expression as foolishness; 
but the lip of Truth has declared, that we 
must become fools before we can become wise 
unto salvation. Yet even such persons should 
pity and not despise me, for of all men I am 
the" most miserable, if I have hope only in this 
life, and if 1 labour under a delusion in these 
things. For in obedience to what 1 am per- 

litical and philosophical writings ) some will say he is a 
poor deluded animal, not worthy of notice. But all will 
smile pointing the finger of contempt, and emphatically 
exclaim, ■• Thomas Branagan has at last capped the 
climax of all his backslidings, and turned one of those 
false prophets, which Chjist foretold would appear »m 
these latter days, and if possible, deceive even the elect." 



31& 

fectJy assured is the voice of the Holy Ghost, 
all things that are pleasing and delightsome to 
me in this world, I cheerfully forego, and un- 
dertake a work, and take up a cross, the very 
thought of which makes my soul to shudder, 
and my heart to palpitate, as I am naturally 
very proud and impetuous : for in going to 
the miserable lanes and alleys, to seek the 
lost sheep of the house of Christendom, I ex- 
pose myself to vile and vulgar abuse, and 
blackguardism; to be spit upon, to be stoned, 
to be imprisoned, and to be hung as a male- 
factor, and disturber of the peace and tran- 
quillity of civil society: for if the Lord is with 
me in power, while bearing a testimony for 
him, most assuredly I shall suffer persecution 
as he did : and that prophet who is favoured 
by the people, and is not persecuted for 
righteousness sake, is not in the gift and spi- 
rit of Christ and his apostles. This is a plain 
and obvious truth j " For if they have done 
these things to the green tree, what will they 
not do to the dry tree, 55 saith Christ our gra- 
cious Redeemer. 

I was also given to see, that I must move 
in a different way in my ministry from any 
prophet that has gone before me; particular- 
ly, that I should direct all men to their inward 
and infallible teacher, the light of Christ* 



313 

who preaches the truth without any salary. 
That I must avoid all controversy and jang- 
ling. That I must visit the miserable in 
jails, work-houses, poor-houses, and hospi- 
tals, as well as in the lanes and alleys, high- 
ways and hedges, and by no means to take 
any thing from any persons for my labour of 
love ; no, not even a drink of cold water, 
without a recompense ; and to live chiefly 
upoji a vegetable diet, while travelling abroad, 
and thus keep the body under by abstinence. 
These, and many other things I was given 
to see by the light of the Holy Spirit, some 
of which are mentioned in these epistles. I 
also saw it was now as in ancient times, for 
one true godly prophet, there are many false 
ones. The serpent preached in Paradise as 
well as the Lord, and the word of the devil 
was believed and the word of God rejected. 
Noah preached the word of the Lord, but was 
laughed to scorn. Elisha gave a true testi- 
mony for his God, and was persecuted by 
king Ahab, while four hundred and fifty false 
prophets were nourished and honoured by 
him. Our blessed Saviour preached the 
truth, while all the Jewish priesthood oppo- 
sed it; our Lord they disbelieved and cruci- 
fied, but their wicked priests they believed 
and honoured. So it will be in this genera- 
Dd 



314 

lion : truth will be rejected, and error em* 
braced. Nevertheless, it shall be demon- 
strated in the day of judgment, that the light 
of heaven came near unto this people, but 
their gross darkness comprehended it not. 
Yes, no doubt, it will be now as in days and 
years past, the true prophets of the Lord, 
and their testimony, will be treated with 
contempt, and rejected with scorn, while the 
tens of thousands of false priests and pro- 
phets will be honoured and idolized, and 
their written sermons, and their worldly wise 
orations, extolled to the skies. Alas ! how 
many poor souls are deceived, both in life and 
death, by their hireling preachers, who think, 
and verily believe, they are going direct to 
heaven, when alas they are taking a circuit- 
ous rout to hell, and will not be convinced of 
their error, neither in life nor in the hour of 
death. They die as they lived, either self- 
deceived, parson-deceived, or else devil-de- 
ceived. They die like lambs, but oh ! if they 
knew what followed after death, they would 
roar like lions. Yea, many tens of thousands 
of high professors, who die in extacies of joy, 
if they could see beyond an hour, they would 
tremble like Bclshazzar. But nothing will 
convince such of their fatal error, but these 
dreadful words, " Depart from me, ye that 



315 

work iniquity, I know you not." God decla- 
red to Adam and Eve, that the day they eat 
of the forbidden fruit, they should surely die. 
But Satan assured them, if they even eat of 
the tree of knowledge, they should not die, 
but be as gods, knowing good and evil; which 
was indirectly asserting, that the divine de- 
claration was an absolute falsehood. Thus 
our blessed Redeemer has positively assured 
us, that « not every one that saith unto me, 
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of 
heaven : but he that docth the will of my Fa- 
ther, which is in heaven. Many will say to 
me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not pro- 
phesied in thy name? and in thy name 
have cast out devils ? and in thy name done 
many wonderful works? And then will I 
profess unto them, I never knew you : depart 
from me, ye that work iniquity." — " But I 
say unto you, that every idle word that men 
shall speak, they shall give account thereof in 
the day of judgment. For by thy words thou 
shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt 
be condemned." « Jesus answered, veri- 
ly, verily, I say unto thee, except a man 
be born of water and of the Spirit, he 
cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 
— " And this is the condemnation, that 
light is come into the world, and men love 
darkness rather than light, because their 



310 

deeds are evil. For every one that doeth 
evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the 
light, lest his deeds should be reproved/' — 
"But he that doeth truth, cometh to the 
light; that his deeds may be made mani- 
fest, that they are wrought in God. There 
were present at that season, some that 
told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate 
had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus 
answering, said unto them, Suppose ye that 
these Galileans were sinners above all the 
Galileans, because they suffered such things ? 
1 tell yon, Nay; but except ye repent, ye shall 
all likewise perish. 95 

These and many other such positive decla- 
rations, made by the Son of God, men will 
not believe; because the devil declares unto 
them, that not withstanding the positive man- 
ner in which the divine denunciations are ex- 
pressed, they never will be fulfilled ; of course, 
that he who made them, will make himself a 
liar, in the face of earth and heaven. 

The devil likewise assures them, that Da- 
vid, Manassa, Magdaline, the Thief on the 
cross, and Peter, and Paul, and all such sin- 
ners, were pardoned and received to paradise, 
and so shall they. That Christ died for sin- 
ners, and God is merciful to such, and that 
66 between the saddle and the ground, mercy 
was sought and mercy found." Hence man- 



317 

kind will not turn at God's reproof, because 
they do not believe him, but will go on in 
their rebellion and sin, at the encouragement 
of Satan, because they believe his insinuations, 
and disbelieve the solemn declarations of their 
almighty Maker. However, let men believe 
who they may, and flatter themselves as they 
will, and let Satan and his host of clergymen 
preach as they choose, yet, most assuredly, 
these words of the Lord, is the pure truth : 
" Heaven and earth shall pass away before 
one tittle of my word shall fail." 

CHAP. II. 

Candid expostulations addressed to the living 
and true ministers of the true church oj Christ , 
relative to the want of philanthrophy they 
manifest, when they behold with indifference, 
and without charity, so many thousands of 
the children of misfortune, ( who never hear 
the gospel preached J going to destruction with- 
out calling them to repentance. 

THESE expostulations are addressed only 
to the living ministers of Christ, who walk 
in his light, who nurture his blessed seed, 
which bruises the serpent's head, and who 
gladly and humbly obey the voice of the free 
and infallible teacher, the holy Spirit of truth 
D d2 



318 

in the temple of their hearts, hy whom ail 
evil spirits are banished. Vain, indeed, would 
it be for me to admonish men-made min- 
isters, who preach for pay and divine for 
money, who take up the trade of priest for a 
salary, and begin with a lie in their mouths, 
by declaring in the presence of angels, men 
and devils, that they are moved by the Holy 
Ghost to preach the gospel ; when they well 
know it is only " for the sake of money :# 
such mercenary ministers, are to the church 
of God, as the blast of mildew, is to the ten- 
der plants. They are the greatest curse, the 
most fatal evil under the sun. But it is not 
only such bare-faced clerical impostors, I con- 
sider it vain to admonish, at this time ; but 
those ministers also, that never were enlight- 
ened to seethe spirituality, and awful respon- 
sibility of. the ministerial function ; who 
deliver as the word of God, the experiences, 

* A certain respectable, learned, and moral divine, 
who received 1800 dollars per annum, for reading two 
sermons every Sabbath, to >ne of the most genteei, ele- 
gant, and intelligent congregations in Philadelphia, having 
an offer recently of 200 dollars more from another con- 
gregation, he forthwith informed his flock, if they did not 
give him 2000 dollars per anuum, he would accept of his 
new offer, which he accordingly did; yet, alas, this palpa- 
ble instance of avarice in this enlightened clergyman, was 
not sufficient to open the intellectual eyes of his congre- 
gation. Surely great must be their spiritual darkness. 



319 

or sermons of other holy men, which they 
have read, with passages of scripture they 
commit to memory ; and who depend more 
upon their own head-knowledge, than on the 
spirit of God. These men, although sincere in 
their intentions, are calculated to do much 
evil ; for this reason : they draw the people's 
minds from their true inward teacher, to their 
outward preacher, and by this means they 
look for spiritual life where it is not to be 
found : and as they begin wrong, they con- 
tinue wrong through life and in death. For 
by the loud, but dead ministry of their preach- 
ers, and by the power of vocal music and sym- 
pathy, or the terrors of hell, they get what is 
called converted, by operating too much upon 
their animal feelings ; hence, they can only 
judge of the solidness of their conversion, and 
also of their future spiritual state, by their 
frames and feelings. If, therefore, by the power 
of music or sympathy, they can re-animate 
their feelings, and work themselves into ex- 
tactic frames, they think their spiritual state 
both safe and sound. And hence, there are so 
many people, who make high professions of 
religion, and punctually attend all the means 
of grace- ycj fhey love the world, and 
the things of the world, more than the thin 
of God. And if they love their neighbours* u 



8S0 

is for the sake of self-interest j and God they j 
love for the sake of recompense, and to avoid | 
punishment : was there no heaven, nor hell, 
their love would soon expire. 

Surely our Saviour's declaration is literally 
fulfilled in this deluded age, to wit : " because 
iniquity will abound, the love of many will 
wax cold." how little of the pure disinter- 
ested love of God, is now in the world, and 
how much of the interested love of God, such 
as the Jews had for Christ, when they follow- 
ed him for the loaves and fishes. Alas, our 
truly loving Jesus has millions of such follow- 
ers, in this degenerate nineteenth century. 
Yet, notwithstanding the baseness of this nas- 
ty, selfish disposition, there are many profes- 
sors, who will advocate it. 

I have been attacked with warmth, and cen- 
sured with some acrimony, for execrating the 
above abominable selfish principle, by some 
of my old religious friends ; and I might al- 
most say, the most pious men in the denomi- 
nation to which I then belonged. 

I had some warm arguments with these 
friends, particularly relative to some senti- 
ments on this subject, 1 published A. D. 1808, 
in my " Beauties of Philanthropy," second 
edition, page 204, 



321 

There is another description of ministers 
Avith whom I think it vain to expostulate, rela- 
tive to seeking in the miserable lanes and al- 
leys, in our sea-port towns, the lost sheep of 
the house of Christendom ; and that is, those 
who once had a dispensation of the gospel 
committed to them, who walked in the light 
of the Lord, nurtured the seed that bruised 
the serpent's head, and who could boldly en- 
quire of the Holy Ghost in his inward tem- 
ple, when, where, and what he should preach 
or prophesy ; and their words were spirit and 
and life ; but alas, like Demas, they turned to 
the beggarly elements of this world. This 
love of self, superceded the love of the light* 
the life, and the seed of grace in their hearts ; 
hence, the light that was in them is turned to 
darkness, and that darkness is great. 

The spirit of Truth has taken its depar- 
ture from their hearts, and the spirit of delu- 
sion has taken its place* Hence, they can 
love the world, and follow their merchandi- 
zing with a greedy avidity, can wear costly 
apparel, drink wine, and in one word, fare 
sumptuously every day like Dives; and such is 
their gross darkness, they think they are going 
direct to heaven : of course they continue their 
station in their professional denomination ?K 
ministers of Christ, but their words are lifeless. 



322 

and their testimony is only in the letter, which 
killeth ; and the few true ministers, who walk 
in the light of ,the Lord, know it, and feel it 
to be so ; yet these men are far more forward 
to preach and prophecy, than the true pro- 
phets, who always wait till they receive the 
word with the power from on high. And these 
false propin :ts, are peculiarly attentive to all 
the outward forms and peculiarities of their 
sect, so that none but those who are full of 
the Holy Ghost, and walk in the light, can 
discern their state and standing. 

The preaching of these ministers, although 
they do not preach for pay, is also to their 
congregations, like the blast of mildew to the 
tender herbage. But such is the gross dark- 
ness that rests on the minds of the people, 
that not one in one thousand see these things 
in their true colours. But to you, O true 
ministers of Christ, who are now in the light, 
who love it. walk in it, who live in the power 
of the Holy Ghost, above this world and its 
delusions, in whom the good seed that brui- 
ses the serpent's head, grows, flourishes, and 
bears much fruit, who are in friendship with 
God, and maintain a social intercourse with 
heaven, and who feel the mighty weight, so- 
lemnity, and responsibility of the ministerial 
function, and the honour and glory that is con- 



323 

ferred on that man, who is constituted a true 
ambassador from the Court of Heaven ; who 
preaches to mankind, to induce them to Jive and 
love, without any outward preaching. THUS 
SAITH THE LORD UNTO YOU, « Did F 
call you to my service, did I commit a dispen- 
sation of the gospel to you, did I illuminate 
you with a ray from heaven, that you should 
confine your testimony to your own profession- 
al deuomination ? With the same reason, and 
with more propriety, might a physician con- 
fine his medical practice to one family. But 
did I not rather call you, and endow you with 
power from on high, that you might be instant 
in season and out of season, in nourishing my 
lambs and feeding my sheep : — to let your light 
shine before, and be a pattern to all people : — - 
that you should proclaim the acceptable year 
of the Lord, who will be worshiped only in spi- 
rit and in truth ; and keep yourselves clear of 
the blood of all mm : — that you might faithfully 
testify against the false prophets and worships, 
and worshipers of your day ami generation: — 
that you should call all people out of their 
transgressions, out of their false worship, hu- 
man inventions, and dead works ; to walk in 
my light, and live in my love, as strangers 
and pilgrims on earth : — that you should preach 
repentance to all. hut especially to the poof 



321 

an4 miserable, in your cities and towns. 
Wherefore have I chosen you? Is it not that 
you should pity and preach in my power, the 
word of my grace, to the poor for whom I died ? 
And know ye not your ownselves, that I will 
not hold these ministers of my gospel guiltless, 
who behold with indifference* and without pity, 
thousands of their poor miserable fellow-crea- 
tures going down to perdition, led captive by 
the devil at his will ; who never hear my gos- 
pel preached, although they live where they 
live, and die where they die, Be ye therefore 
obedient to the voice of my spirit, lest I re- 
move your candlestick out of its place, and 
your light be turned into darkness. Work ye 
therefore while it is light, for the night cometh 
when no man can work.'* 

This is the word of the Lord to you, of 
which, if ye have any doubt, enquire of the* 
Holy Ghost, with fasting and prayer ; or like 
holy Daniel, eat no pleasant bread, and drink 
no wine, for three full weeks, and be still be- 
fore the Lord ; consult not with flesh and 
blood, saying to this friend, and that friend, 
<f« What doest thou think of T. ITs testimony." 
But renounce the world, enquire of the Lord 
alone, with humility, self abasement, and fer- 
vent prayer, and it will be given you clearly 
to see* whether the Lord has spoken through 



325 

me or not. It is given me to foresee, thatnei* 
tlier the profane nor the professional world, 
will receive my testimony ; those few only 
excepted, who walk in the light, and who 
live as strangers and pilgrims on earth. Yet, 
the truth is the truth, though no person should 
believe it ; and error is error, though all men: 
should believe it to be truth. 

Oh friends ! I tremble and groan in spirit, 
when I see the awful gulph of delusion in 
which Christendom is enveloped. 

There are about six hundred sects, and 
perhaps six millions of priests and prophets, 
in the world. As for the sects, not one of 
them, can with truth be called, as a commu- 
nity, the true church of Christ; as it has 
long since been fed in the wilderness, in or- 
der that it might be preserved from the con- 
taminating influence of the serpent. And as 
for the hosts of parsons and prophets, which 
are supported in elegant indolence, by those 
sects: 1 shudder to think, much less express, 
bow few of them are true ones, and how few 
keep the true testimony of Jesus. 

There is a whirlpool on the coast of Nor- 
way, which will suck a large ship, or even a 
large whale, if they come within the circle 
of its violence ; first imperceptibly, then with 
the rapidity of a whirlwind. Mariners there - 
E e 



326 

fore, keep at the greatest possible distance 
from this fatal whirlpool. So, dangerous and 
more fatal, is the awful gul'ph of delusion I 
tremblingly deprecate ; even true preachers 
and people, are liable to be brought into its 
Vortex imperceptibly, and then they sweetly 
sail down the river of time, and never see 
their error and folly, till they are launched 
Into the tumultuous ocean of eternity. May 
we all, therefore, dear Friends, cleave close 
to our infallible teacher, the Holy Ghc.r.t ; es- 
pecially, when we are given to see ihis 
dreadful gulph ; for it is the light of the^Spi- 
rit alone, that makes our danger appear 
manifest : and is it not that we may escape 
the destruction, by coming out of our sins, 
into the power and life of Christ ? 

For my part, I both see and feel my dan- 
ger; for although I have declared the pure 
truth, or rather the Lord has spoken through 
me, as a captain of a vessel speaks through 
a trumpet; yet, if I continue not in that 
truth, and the light of the Lord ; if I cease to 
obey the voice of the Spirit, and rather obey 
the dictates of the flesh, then the word of the 
Lord, the power of the Lord, arfd the Spirit 
of the Lord, will depart from me ; for light and 
darkness cannot dwell together, nor the Ho- 
ly spirit, and evil spirits. For God is deli- 



%27 

cate in love, and will not, neither indeed can 
he endure any competitor in the affection of 
his children. He, therefore, who serves God 
for the the sake of being served himself; 
who loves God for the sake of recompense ; 
who follows after holiness, only for the sake 
of obtaining the divine reward, and avoiding 
the divine punishment ; such professors as 
these, and the world is filled with such, are 
destitute of any true affection towards God. 
Oh ! that professors would examine their 
hearts, and see if this selfish principle, is 
not the main spring of all their engagements 
with man, and all their actions, performances 
and professions of attachment to God : if this 
is the case, they are an abomination in his 
sight ; for although they can and do deceive 
man by their professional friendship, they 
never can deceive God. 

A spirit of selfishness is as opposite to the 
Spirit of Christ, and to that charity that 
seeketh not her own, as light is to darkness. 
Those, therefore, whether preachers or peo- 
ple, who arc under the influence of a selfish 
spirit, let them preach, pray, and profess as 
they may, though they can jump for joy, and 
sing and shout the praises of God, and be in 
great extaey, both through life and at death, 
yet, will they be rejected by Christ, as coun- 



328 

terfeit coin, and they will have their por- 
tion with hypocrites and unbelievers. Since 
we are all thus liable to be contaminated with 
this selfishness, which is the idol of the 
world ; Oh how necessary is it for you and 
me, Oh venerable ambassadors of the King 
of Heaven, to keep the body under by total- 
ly abstaining from all manner of delicious 
food, pleasant wine, and strong drink: may 
we all forego every thing in this world, that 
our carnal natures crave, and hanker after ; 
for such sacrifices are well pleasing to the 
Lord. If we thus deny ourselves all carnal 
gratifications, and live, and move, and pro- 
phecy in the light, the love, and the power 
of the Holy Ghost ; our words, or rather 
the word of God, spoken through us, (for it is 
not you that speak, but your heavenly Father 
that speaks in you, saith the Lord,) will be 
spirit and life ; then will the Spirit of Truth, 
in us, exterminate all evil spirits, and we 
will be able to live above them, and our whole 
bodies and souls, will be full of light, while 
our eyes are single, and our souls full of love. 
Then, indeed, will \yc deny ourselves, and 
take up our cross, however heavy, and obey 
the voice of the Spirit of the Lord ; though 
it should be to go to the lanes and alleys, 
among the beasts of the people, to seek the 
lost sheep of the house of Christendom. The 



329 

cross is exceedingly useful, because it cruci- 
fies the flesh, and mortifies the pride of life 
indeed. Without we do violence to self, the 
miserable flesh, we never can get the victory 
over all sin, and be brought into the honour, 
the power, the light, the love of Christ, and 
union, communion, friendship, and fellowship 
with the Holy Ghost. By growing in this 
grace, and thus mortifying the deeds of the 
body, we may attain to a state of blessed- 
ness in Christ Jesus, even in this life, 
higher than even Adam attained to ;# name- 
ly, a state of grace, from which we cannot 
fall, and to which no evil man, or evil spirit, 
can reach to take our crown. 

Friends, in the true ministry, I beseech 
you once more to enquire of the Holy Ghost, 
with humiliation, fasting, and prayer, when 
you read this testimony, in behalf of the poor 
in our lanes, and alleys, that you may sec 

* Although I believe that many christians, have at- 
tained to a state of sanctity and perfect love, superior 
to what either Enoch, Moses, or Elias did : to a state 
superior to even that of Adam, from which they could 
not, nor did not fall; and although 1 believe it possible 
for modern christian* by grace, through faith, to attain 
to a similar state of sanctity, yet do I not believe, thar 
any in the present exceedingly depraved state of the 
christian world, are now in this glorious state of grace 



e e 2 



33fr 

if it is of the Lord or not, before you by any 
means consult with flesh and blood. 

Both preachers, and people, are too apt to 
consult with flesh and blood, when thev hear 
the still small voice of Christ within: then 
the spirit of darkness rises and hides the 
truth from their intellectual eyes ; hence, 
the true light departs, and they cannot see. 
After this, such ministers do not Jove the truth, 
nor live in the light they preach of, (which 
all true ministers do,) because thepower and 
light of the Lord has been abused, and his 
spirit crucified by them. 

It is an awful, and a dangerous thing, to 
turn our backs upon the Holy Spirit, and en- 
quire of our own selfish spirits, in matters of 
such great importance. It is destruction, to 
slight, or disobey, the voice of the Lord. 

Witness the prophet, who bore a true 
testimony against the altar in Bethel,- yet, 
because he did not fully obev the voice of the 
Lord, m every particular, but rather obey- 
ed the voice of one of his brethren the pro- 
phets, a lion met him at his return, and slew 
liim. 

I feel a spirit of solemn sadness to red 
upon me, because it is given me to sec, that 
very few of the true ministers of Christ, will 
see or believe my testimony; and some of 
those few, who bpth sec and believe it is 



334 

of the Lord, and agreeable to truth, yet will 
they not turn in and listen to, and obey the 
spirit of love, that moves them to obedience ; 
and the true light, by which they were fa- 
voured to see and know the good, and ac- 
ceptable will of the Lord. Hence, they tram- 
ple upon the truth, the light, the power, 
and their crown ; and their light, is of course 
turned to darkness, 

.Never since the creation, was there great- 
er need of the living ministry of Christ being 
vigilant ; yet never were they more indo- 
lent. In former times, to wit the seventeenth 
century, the true ministers of Christ, went 
cheerfully to obey his voice, in Meeting- 
houses, Market- houses, Court-houses, and 
Kings houses ; in markets, in fairs, in lanes, 
in alleys, in streets, in high-ways, and hed- 
ges, regardless of persecution ; although 
they well knew, that the confiscation of their 
property, cruel whippings, and imprison- 
ments, and death itself, stared them in the 
face ; all of which they cheerfully endured 
for the sake of truth. And who is there, in 
tins dark, deluded, and degenerate age, 
that is willing to forego any pleasure, or 
endure any pain, in the cause of truth J 
Who is there amongst the tens of thousands 
of the professed ministers of the gospel, 
who feel sufficient love to Christ, and pity 



332 

to the miserable poor for whom he died, to 
stimulate them to seek without pay, the lost 
sheep of Christendom, who are going 
to hell by thousands, without ever hearing 
the gospel preached. For not having, as I be- 
fore hinted, suitable apparel to appear in a 
place of worship, they habitually neglect 
going to such places, till it becomes a second 
nature for them and their children, thus to 
neglect attending any place of worship. 
Thus they live and die ; and that in the midst 
of many ministers of the gospel, without 
hearing its gladly, solemn sound. What a 
pity ! what a shame ! ! 

But I again ask, amongst this host of min- 
isters of Christ, who are they, and how many 
are seeking diligently the lost sheep for 
whom Christ died, in the lanes, and alleys, 
high-ways, and hedges, according to his spe- 
cial command ? I answer not one. 

Those true ministers, whose lamps are 
yet burning, although not trimmed, the glass 
of which still reflects a light, although dimly, 
on account of the smoke that has settled upon 
the glass, for want of being kept clean, alias, 
a spirit of indolence, resulting from the ne- 
glect of abstinence and self denial. I say, 
even these men, with one beam of divine 
light, must see the truth of my testimony. 



333 

When any true minister lias an opening to 
see these things, let him be obedient there- 
unto ; for self, will ussuredly rise up against 
the light, and will raise objections against 
this testimony, or the unworthy instrument 
who bore it, or the meanness of exposing 
ones self to the vulgar abuse of blackguards ; 
and that there are plenty of meeting-houses, 
in which the miserable poor may come to 
hear the gospel : all these objections, and 
many more, will a selfish spirit raise, to keep 
even the true ministers of Christ from obey- 
ing his voice, and seeking the lost sheep of 
the house of Christendom. But to such I 
would say, remember Saul's punishment, and 
shun his disobedience ; for obedience is better 
than whole burnt sacrifices, yea, than going 
every day to* meeting for an age, and attend- 
ing to, all the little trifling peculiarities of 
any sect in the world. For belonging to this 
society or that society, or circumcision or 
uncircumcision, avails nothing; but keeping 
the commands of God, and obeying his voice. 
Therefore, all true ministers must sink down- 
wards intothe valley of humiliation, and em- 
brace the cross, and daily keep in it, and 
meditate on the boundless love of him who 
died on the cross, that we might never die. 
This love in him will beget love in us ; that is, 
if we have a spark of generosity ; for with- 



334 

out we sincerely love the Lord, his commands, 
especially in the present instance, will be 
irksome, distasteful, yea, impossible to obey. 
For should we avoid all sin, and do ever so 
much good, and any other motive than pure 
love stimulate us thereunto, all such selfish 
works, are an abomination to the Lord : and 
though we should to all appearance be ever 
so pious and holy, if we expect to purchase 
the favour of the Lord, and future happiness 
therewith, we act in opposition, and not in 
subordination to the gospel, and it profits us 
nothing ; for after we have done all that is 
commanded us by the Lord, we are truly un- 
profitable servants, notwithstanding what our 
own vanity, or the partiality of our friends 
may insinuate in our favour. But those who 
walk in the light of the Lord, clearly see all 
these things, and more than I can express. 
They also see, that those ministers of Christ, 
who view with indifference, their poor miser- 
able fellow creatures, going down to perdi- 
tion by thousands, and without calling them 
to repentance, are truly reprehensible in the 
sight of God. For even a wicked man, would 
not view with indifference, his neighbour 
rushing into a pit, or drowning in a river, 
much less, without using his utmost endea- 
vours to save his life. May this simple com- 
parison, come with force to your consciences, 



335 

ye true ministers of the gospel. Surely it is 
the will- of the Lord, that you should be burn- 
ing and shining lights, in this age of dark- 
ness and delusion 5 that you should be like a 
city set upon an hill : — that you should be 
the salt of the earth, holy, pure, and bene- 
volent ; yea, a lump of love. Then, indeed* 
will you be sweet fragrant roses, in the gar- 
den of the Lord, and branches in the true 
vine, which are bending withdelicious grapes. 
For be assured, the Lord requires more of 
you, than he does of other people. Herein 
is the Lord greatly glorified, in you, when 
ye prove valiant advocates for the truth ; and 
by your life ; and testimony, declare from the 
the Lord, woe, woe, woe, to the false priests, 
false worships, and false worshippers, of the 
nineteenth century : and like your Lord and 
Master, and his apostles, go about continually 
doing good to his poor creatures, and supply- 
ing the lack of service in the hireling cleri- 
cal tribe ; and having freely received the true 
word of life, freely give it, without money 
and without price ; for Christ delights in a 
cheerful giver, and abominates those who 
make a gain of godliness, and merchandize 
of the gospel. These things I feel in my 
mind to testify, and my testimony is true j 
though I well know, by bearing this testi- 
mony, I expose myself to grievous persecu- 



336 

lion from the sons of error, and their erro- 
neous priests. But live in the power of the 
Lord, and obey his voice, and all evil spirits 
will be kept down. The victory is in the 
cross, and in the faith. To disobey or com- 
mit any wilful sin against the Lord, will 
prove more fatal to you, than millions of earth- 
ly and hellish foes. Take no step without 
inquiring* of the Lord, and when his will is 
manifest, tarry not, but quickly obey. Move 
not an inch, nor speak not a word, without 
the command ; and hesitate not a moment 
when once the mandate is explicitly and po- 
sitively given. Words, however goocl in 
themselves, spoken out of the power, are on- 
ly like a puff of wind, and lead to formality. 
Speak, therefore, as the spirit moves, and 
stop when it stops: for ministers who preach 
in the life, and still continue their speech af- 
ter the life is departed, is like a cow that 
gives a good pale of milk, and immediately 
kicks it over : for the dead letter and dead 
words, only throws a gloom, and an ill savour 
on the living words, which were spirit and 
life. Great caution should be used in these 
things; for want of this precaution and watch- 
fulness, the world is full of error and for- 
mality, even among those who ought to know^ 
better; and almost totally divested of this 
true word of life, which gives the victory over 



387 

all sin, and brings the possessor of it forth- 
with into the paradise of God, to walk with 
him, to see him, and the best of all, to love 
him supremely, with the pure love of choice. 
If the few, the very few, true ministers of 
Christ, legitimate ambassadors from the 
court of Heaven, wish examples to stimulate 
them to obey the aforesaid mandate, from the 
friend of sinners, let them once behold the 
zeal, the ardour, the labour of love, with 
which the primitive apostles called poor sin- 
ners to repentance, in lanes and alleys, mar- 
ket houses and private houses, taking their 
lives in their hands, foregoing all earth- 
ly delights for the love of God, and under- 
going every kind of disgrace and punishment 
for the love of precious souls, I might also 
point out to them, the ardent zeal and divine 
love, by which even many of the sectaries 
were animated at their first organization, be- 
fore the standard of hell was set up among 
them ; I mean a spirit of bigotry. Thus in- 
dividuals, when they are tendered and illu- 
minated by the Spirit of Truth, immediately 
join some sect or party, wherein (without a 
miracle of grace,) by little and little, they 
settle down into a form, and become bigots 
and pharisees, as hard to re-animate witli 
their first love, and reform from their spe- 
cious forms* and their much-loved peculiar^ 

Ff 



ties of worship, as it was to reform the am 
cient pharisees. Ye true ministers of the 
nineteenth century, view the ardent zeal, the 
burning love, the shining light, with which 
ancient " Friends" preached the truth, to the 
poor in lanes and alleys, market houses, 
court houses, and kings houses. See with 
what fervour they bore their testimony, and 
see with what patience and constancy they 
endured the spoiling of their goods, cruel 
whippings, long and lingering imprison- 
ments, and death itself, by the hands of the 
common hangman, for the word of their tes- 
timony. Oil ! that the Lord would again raise 
up such faithful witnesses in truth's defence, 
and in support of a slighted gospel. Among 
other reformers, and champions for Christ, 
and guardian angels of their generation, may 
I not mention the Methodists, while a perse- 
cuted people. How did these dear saints 
endure the spoiling of their goods, and the 
most cruel usage, from the beasts of the -peo- 
ple, to whom they preached in fields, in 
streets, in lanes and alleys, without money 
and without price j as they freely received, 
they freely preached the word of life. Yea, 
even among the Catholics, in the dark night 
of apostacy, through the black clouds of su- 
perstition, the bloody standard of bigot- 
ry and monastic gloom, has the blight rays 



339 

and resplendant light of the holy Spirit pier- 
ced, and did not penetrate in vain. Witness 
Be Reinty, A. Kercipis, lady Guion, and even 
archbishop Fenelon; although I cannot away 
with modern bishops and archbishops, be- 
cause they generally live more like proud 
princes than humble apostles. The primi- 
tive bishops preached without pay, in and out 
of doors, yet they worked for their living 
sooner than be a charge to the church, and 
devour the money which they could spare, all 
of which was charitably reserved for the sup- 
port of the poor orphans and widows j and if 
they took any thing, it was only their food 
and raiment. I say, although I cannot 
away with our modern dignified prelates, 
yet do I greatly love, venerate and admire, 
even an humble, pious, liberal catholic cler- 
gyman, even though he should suffer the lu- 
dicrous and rediculous nickname, " arch- 
bishop," to be tacked to his name. And 
who, that has a drop of liberal blood flowing 
through his veins, can help venerating and 
respecting the chief bishop of the Methodist 
society ? who travels thousands of miles eve- 
ry year, through \vinter\s pinching cold, and 
summer's sultry heat, to call sinners to re- 
pentance ; and not surely for money, for he 
only gets eighty dollars per annum for his 
support, while " The Right Reverend Father 



340 



of Una™ » ' V ? WlW ****** lord bishop 

wSfml T? lves ^ nually about Sloo '°oo 

the snii ^ /? m the mouth of lab »"r ; bj 
tut spirit of intolerance. 

faf^ bCg leave to exhibit one m«re ca- 

SSiSETJ wh0 ' in poi,lt of zeaI fw 

ine salvation of sinners, and love for his Sa 
viouns truly worthy of imitation I meL„ 
the indefatigable Francis Xavier, who relk, 

?" "at the PrinCely f °, rtUne ' a -' -yal rela- 
Chrtt a eommand > ^d for the love of 
avJwT* and K . Went , about continually doing 
good, preaching the gospel to the poor and 
the needy, without receiving any pay, but the 

He P was n c! 7^ Ms ^WKSS; 
and itJ 6d in COarSe aml mean a PParel, 

?rnLaLH UP °H aV : getable diet: he used to 
ring a bell in the streets, and thereby eath 

Ser VT Pe ? Ple ' aHd tbeir *■ 
gether, to whom he preached a crucified Sa- 

Permit me here to make a digression, and 
< eclare in the word of the Lord, S this 
minute came to me, and which will apnea? 
Reasonable as well as scriptural, to every 
candHi m, nd. Behold this minister of ChS? 
who, though wrapped in a cloud of theoloJ- 
ea gloom, with all the disadvantages of eZ 
cation and habit; with all the impediments 
resulting from a confused idea of the SS 



Mi 

Christian divinity, yet with all these formi- 
dable barriers, behold him forsaking forever, 
all that this world calls good and great, and 
going into voluntary exile, among the Indians 
and Asiatics, to call these benighted people 
to the out-stretched arms of his bleeding Sa- 
viour ; thousands of whom obeyed the Divine 
call. And at last, behold him die in this ce- 
lestial service, in a wretched hovel, forsaken 
by men, but surrounded by angels, who con- 
vey his happy soul to paradise. Behold, I 
say, this faithful ambassador, ye friendly mi- 
nisters, who are greatly enlightened in the 
true christian divinity, and yet refuse to call 
even the miserable sinners of your own 
neighbourhood to repentance. Behold this 
valiant soldier of the cross, travelling thou- 
sands of miles on this glorious errand, and 
blush, and be ashamed before God : for thus 
saith the Lord, " surely I will, in a coming 
day, hold up such of my loving and faithful 
disciples and ministers, with all their disad- 
vantages and impediments, in full view, to 
shame and confound those unfaithful minis- 
ters, whom I have enlightened and qualified 
to bear their testimonies in defence of truth, 
and against the false worships and worship- 
pers of their generation, but have enlighten- 
ed and qualified in vain." 



34S 

The reader is entreated to pardon this di- 
gression, and mode of composition, and attend 
only to the matter, which he should not con- 
demn rashly, or without investigation ; but 
let it stand or fall by scripture testimony. — 
It is most assuredly a serious subject, for if 
I am in the true light, and declare the truth, 
many ten thousands, both saints and sinners, 
so called, who now solace themselves in 
plenty, crying peace, peace, are, notwith- 
standing in midnight darkness, and in a most 
fatal error. 

Before I conclude, I would mention a few 
more instances of clerical intrepidity, as a 
stimulus to the enlightened, but indolent gos- 
pel ministers of the present age, if it be pos- 
sible to stimulate them to be valiant for the 
truth, as it is in Jesus, before death stops up 
the way. Witness the great Mr. Wesley, 
who preached the gospel in the streets of 
London, and the fields of its vicinity. Also, 
the pious John Fletcher, used to ring a bell 
to call the children of Madley together in the 
open air, and catechised them. The eloquent 
and energetic Whitefield used to preach the 
gospel in streets, fields, or houses, just as 
the opportunity presented, both in Europe 
and America. And not many years ago, pi- 
ous and zealous Methodist ministers, used to 
preach in the fields, streets, and market 



343 



houses ; and in the villages they ofttimes cal- 
led the poor together, by singing a hymn 
suitable to the occasion, after which they 
would preach the word to them on horseback. 
But, alas! not one preacher follows their ex- 
cellent example, in our day, at least, not to 
tny knowledge. 



CHAP. III. 



Consolatory admonitions, addressed to the poor, 
and the needy, the miserable and unfortunate, 
who never attend places of public worship to 
hear the gospel preached. 

J\Iu poor unhappy fellow sinners, 

I am moved by the source of benevo- 
lence, to address you on a subject, in which, 
( whether you believe it or not,) you are 
deeply interested ; namely, your future hap- 
piness : for misery you know, by sad experi- 
ence, is your portion in this world. Many 
of you are miserable here, like poor Lazarus 
at the rich man's gate; but, unlike him, you 
are also in the direct road to future misery. 
Mv object, therefore, in this address, and in 
,„V contemplated verbal address to you in 
-your lanes and alleys, (where I intend to dis- 
tribute these pamphlets gratis)-[and here I 



344 

would beseeeli you, to deliver them to your 
miserable neighbours when you have read 
them, or approach their sick beds yourselves, 
and read them to their comfort]— my object, I 
say, in this address, is to move you to attend 
to the things which make for your peace, be- 
fore they are forever hid from your eyes ; 
and which I will endeavour to point out to 
you, in a few words. 

The first truth I feel moved to impress 
upon your minds, is this : That the Almighty 
Parent of good, never did, never will, nor 
indeed never can, afflict his poor creatures, 
without a special reference to their present, 
and future happiness. This is an incontesti- 
bleiact. Therefore, you may believe assu- 
redly, that God only afflicts you to-day, to 
reward you to-morrow. Is it not in order 
that the world and its perishing vanities may 
be imbittered to you, by suffering, that you 
may be induced to seek refuge in the bosom 

ot trod, and in the consolations of religion 

In order, that you may see and feel the force 
ot this truth, I would particularly exhort you, 
that you would listen to the still small voice 
ot Christ in your hearts ; which, if obeyed, 
will lead you into all truth. And this voice 
you have often heard, though yon could not, 
or did not, or rather would not, distinguish it 
to be the voice of your best friend, callhre- 



M5 

you to your own happiness. You recollect 
full well, that you have ofttimes heard an in- 
ward voice in reason's ear, (your consciences 
hearing witness thereunto,) testifying that all 
things were not well with you ; and that there 
was a day of dreadful reckoning at hand ; es- 
pecially when you were guilty of any wicked 
action. A light has ofttimes appeared in 
your mind, which shewed you that you were 
created for a nobler purpose, than beastly 
gratification ; namely, to serve your gracious 
Creator. And you have had ofttimes most 
awful forebodings in your concience for dis- 
obeying this voice, and turning your mind 
from this light ; particularly when you have 
been alone, in some solitary place ; or when 
you have had an alarming vision ; or when 
you have heard of the sudden death of a 
neighbour; or when you recollected how ex- 
posed you were yourselves, to sudden death 
and judgment. This voice and light, was 
the voice and light of your merciful Saviour, 
who died for your sins, and who is thus cal- 
ling you out of your sins, into his life, liberty, 
and love. 

This light appears to all men, in all places, 
and of all colours and kindreds ; teaching 
them, that they should deny ungodliness, and 
worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, 
and godly, in this present world. The Scrip- 



346 

lures abundantly bear testimony of this truth* 
to prove which, it is only necessary to quote 
a few passages thereof.— « In the beginning 
was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
and the Word was God, The same was in 
the beginning with God. All things were 
made by him ; and without him was not any 
thing made that was made. In him was life; 
and the life was the light of men. And the 
light shineth in darkness ; and the darkness 
comprehendeth it not. There was a man sent 
from God, whose name was John : The same 
came far a witness, to bear witness of the 
Light, that all men through him might be- 
lieve. He was not that light, but was sent 
to bear witness of that light. That was the 
true light, which lighteth every man that 
cometh into the world." — « And this is the 
condemnation, that light is come into the 
world, and men love darkness rather than 
light, because their deeds were evil. For 
every one that doeth evil hateth the light, 
neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds 
should be reproved. But he that doeth truth, 
cometh to the light, that his deeds may be 
made manifest, that they are wrought in 
God." — f* It is the Spirit that quickenethv 
the flesh profiteth nothing ; the words that I 
speak unto you, they are Spirit and they are 
life." — a Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a 



31? 

Jittle while is the light with you : walk while 
ye have the light : lest darkness come upon 
you : for he that walketh in darkness know- 
eth not whither he goeth." — »« I am come a 
light into the world, that whosoever believetli 
on me, should not abide in darkness," 

Thus we may all clearly see the necessity 
of obeying the voice of Christ in our hearts, 
and walking in his light and love^ And you 
who have not lived under a man-made mi- 
nistry, can see more easily and clearly, the 
excellency of this doctrine! They have to 
unlearn what they have been learning many 
years, before they can learn of the Spirit of 
Truth. Whereas, you have only to learn of 
your infallible inward Teacher, who was 
meek and lowly of heart, and you will assu- 
redly, both in life and death, find rest to your 
souls. This blessed light gives not only a 
sight of sin, but also a sense of the unuttera- 
ble love, and bitter agonies, of the Saviour 
of the world, for the sins of mankind : this 
light begets ardent love to him, which pro- 
duces sorrow, and hatred to sin, and amend- 
ment of life and conduct. The guilt of past 
sins, are then removed, being freely pardon- 
ed by the liberality of heaven. By living in 
this light, and listening to the voice of truth, 
the soul becomes habitually virtuous, and 
naturally just, according to its new nature in 



348 

Christ. In addition to all the infinite mer- 
cies, and favours of Christ, conferred upon 
you, behold him stimulating a man of like 
passions and propensities with yourselves, 
the chief of sinners, to use every argument* 
and every art, to win you to your own hap- 
piness, to induce you to open the door of your 
hearts, to your gracious Redeemer; who has 
been knocking thereat, from time to time, for 
many years. O! think, think, a moment, 
upon your eternal condition. You are miser- 
able here, and what ground of hope have you 
of being otherwise than miserable hereafter ? 
No hope but in Christ, who died that you 
might live : the just for the unjust. He is 
the light to make manifest your malady, and 
he is the only physician, that can provide an 
antidote for it. Seek him with your whole 
heart, and ye shall find him. Let carnal 
priests and professors say what they will, we 
must forsake all earthly vanities, for the 
sake of this precious pearl of great price, 
or we can never find it. But this will be 
made manifest to your view, when you come 
savingly to the light of Christ within ; and 
that light will give you to see your state, and 
enable you to detect the wicked spirits that 
seek your destruction, and cheat you to your 
ruin, and you will see, above their baits, 
and by proving obedient thereunto, it will 



349 

shine brighter and brighter to the perfect 
day. Most people seek this great and marvel- 
lous salvation, amongst men called doctors of 
divinity, and m books of divinity, and in 
elegant buildings, they call churches; and at 
the same time lend a deaf ear to the repeat- 
ed calls of Christ* The devil is very wil- 
ling we should look at the right way, if we 
will only walk in the wrong way; and go this 
way, that way, or any way, but the right 
way, which is Christ, the way, the truth, and 
the life, by which if a man enters, he finds a 
paradise on earth. Let not this gracious, 
though uncommon means, which God makes 
use of to win you to your own happiness, and 
his arms of love, prove abortive. For it will 
greatly augment your condemnation, by tak- 
ing away from you the excuse of ignorance, 
if it does not, through divine aid, and your 
own consent, make you wise unto salvation. 
The rich men, the mighty men, and honour- 
able men, of this world, relinquish the joys 
of heaven, for the pleasures of sense, and the 
guiided toys of time, regardleSvS of eternity. 
But you have not even these guiided toys to 
forego, for you feel, as well as know, that po- 
verty is your portion in this world. It would, 
therefore, be your wisdom, to make a virtue 
of necessity : God has removed from you the 
barrier which precludes thousands from living 

Gg 



350 

a life -of self-denial, and true religion: name- 
ly> the riches and honours of this world.— 
Hence, you are compelled to bear the cross, 
and the cross shall wear the crown : but re- 
member, and let the thought sink deep, in 
order to this, the cross must be borne, not bv 
constraint, or necessity, but of choice, and a 
willing mind ; for as Christ gained the vic- 
tory on the cross, we must also conquer all 
our enemies in the cross : for as there can be 
no victory without a combat, so there can be 
no crown without a cross. A measure of the 
Spirit of God, which enlightened the holy 
men of old to write the scriptures, is given to 
you to read them, with all ; and indeed with- 
out this light, the scriptures would be a seal- 
ed letter to you. Wherefore, my principal 
object, and special call, is to exhort vou in 
the name, and by the command of the*Lord, 
to turn to the light within, which leads to all 
virtue without. By neglecting this light of 
Christ, and his voice within, all men, with 
but few exceptions, are plunging themselves 
into a Satanic pit of delusion, or are comfort- 
ably and contentedly seated at ease therein. 
Be entreated, therefore, my poor, unhappy, 
unfortunate, and afflicted 'fellow-travellers 
to the silent grave, to look at the light, and 
listen to the still small voice within, which 
calls you to your own happiness. Turn from 



3S1 

your vain and volatile, if not vile and vulgar 
companions, and be much in solitude and si- 
lence, reading the sacred scripture!?, which 
will be a source of delight, information, and 
consolation, when you are thus enlightened 
to see their spirituality. Think much, talk 
but little, even to religious people ; but let 
your chief converse be with the Holy Ghost. 
For 1 am persuaded, was I to get among 
what are called my religious acquaintances, 
and to chit chat with them, even on good sub- 
jects, I would talk all the little grace I have 
now got away in a week. Hence, many who 
are enlightened by the Spirit of Truth to see 
their state, and who are enabled in some mea- 
sure to come to the strong for strength, and 
to forsake their ungodly practices, yet, alas ! 
instead of going on to perfection, at God's 
command, and still looking to the light by 
which they were first enlightened, and lis- 
tening to the still small voice that first called 
them to their own happiness; they look 
and listen to men called doctors of divinity, 
and chit chat with what are called the reli- 
gious members of the sect they happen to 
join,* till they chat the spirit and light of 
Christ out of their hearts; and although they 

* Should any who read this testimony, be reached 
and awakened by the divine life and power, and belong 



352 

are outwardly moral, and punctually attend, 
and almost worship the outward ordinances, 
of the sect they choose to associate with, yet, 
alas! they are more worldly-minded, more 

to no denomination, yet wish advice which one to join ; 
to such I would say, Ask advice of no man living, while 
the Holy Ghost is within, and waiting to give the best 
advice in such important matters. But I would advise 
such, if they do attach themselves to any sect, to watch 
always against a spirit of bigotry, which is to be found 
in every sect, either less or more ; and no spirit from 
hell is more slily evil,'than this spirit, which kindled the 
fires in which the martyrs were consumed. By this 
spirit most professors are blinded, as the primitive per- 
secutors were. Yea, some have gone so far as to assert, 
that no man can be a true Christian, unless he is a secta- 
rian ; than which, a greater absurdity cannot be c O 
therefore, ye who are yet uncontaminated by this prime 
minister of Satan, I mean a spirit of bigotry, which has 
already almost banished true charity irom the face of 
the earth, let your language be, '* O my soul, come not 
thou into their secret;" and let your conduct correspond 
therewith. Be assured, by associating with bigots, as 
well as other evil persons, you will catch a measure of 
their spirit ; for it is almost as contagious as the yellow 
fever. You in whom the witness of God is raised, do, I 
beseech, and not 1, but the Lord commands, " Cleave 
to the Holy Spirit as your unerring guide ; let him be 
your infallible counsellor in all doubts and distresses ; 
depend upon no man ; and turn not your back upon the 
Holy Ghost, to consult any man, in cases of conscience, 
for this is a great insult to the witness of God in your 
conscience." — Something like the king of Israel sending 
po inquire of the god of Akron, while he slighted the 
true God of his fathers. 



353 

grasping after earthly things, harder to deal 
with, more unfeeling to the poor, and a thou- 
sand times more bigoted than they were, in 
(what they are pleased now to call, with a 
sanctimonious countenance) their unconvert- 
ed state. Therefore, this is the word of the 
Lord to you, « Be ye perfect, as your heaven- 
ly Father is perfect, whose will is even your 
sanctifieation." For be assured, his servants 
you are, whom ye obey, whether of sin unto 
death, or righteousness unto life. For as in 
Adam all men died unto sanctity, so in Christ 
may they all live sanctified, which can only 
be attained by walking in the light, listen- 
ing to the voice of the Holy Spirit, and punc- 
tually obeying it. This is the narrow, self- 
denying way, which many seek, and but few 
find. Many try to enter, but are not able, 
because they obey not the voice of the Spirit, 
nor will they walk in the light; but rather 
believe and obey the evil spirit through life, 
and even in the hour of death. And this 
evil spirit assures them, though they live in 
sin, they shall die in the Lord; though they 
love the world, the love of the Father may 
be in them; though they neglect to deny 
themselves of all the vain things that charm 
them most, and to take up their daily cross 
and follow Christ in the regeneration, yet 
they may be his chosen disciples; though they 
Gg2 



351 

^Vill not keep his sayings, yet their house 
shall not be as the foolish man's house, who 
built on the sand; though they feel a much 
greater solicitude to enjoy their Maker's be- 
nefits than to please him, yet to him they 
shall be peculiarly pleasing; and though the 
Lord has positively declared, that none shall 
enter his kingdom, but those only, who do the 
will of his heavenly Father : yet that he will 
by his conduct contradict this his solemn de- 
claration, and of course make himself a liar, 
in the presence of angels, men, and devils; 
these, and many other false representations 
of their hellish foe, mankind confidently be- 
lieve, and at the same time disbelieve the so- 
lemn declarations of their heavenly friend. 
Hence, through life and in death, they conti- 
nue the victims of this most fatal delusion, 
till too late convinced of their folly, in a mi- 
serable eternity. 

Shun therefore this dreadful rock, on which 
so many have been shipwrecked. The king- 
dom of God, this day has come near to you ; 
slight not therefore this the day of your visi- 
tation, for it will be the last call, the last in- 
vitation to many of you : therefore be weigh- 
ty, be cool, be still, in this most important 
of all your concerns, turn from your own 
thoughts, your own wishes, your own 
righteousness, your own plans, and arrange* 



355 

tnents, to the principle of life, the voice of 
truth, the light of life within, which you have 
so long transgressed, and disregarded, and 
which will lead you into all truth and holi- 
ness, and will give yoif power over all sin, 
and unrighteousness, and will teach you as 
men never taught, and more than all the lan- 
guages ofjthe world ean express ; and which 
will lead to pure joy, tranquillity, heaven, and 
bring into quietness, innocence, holiness, and 
happiness. 

Wben you disohey this light, which enlight- 
ens every man, and this spirit, a measure of 
which is given to every man to profit with- 
all, the mind is building castles in the air, 
while the body is grovelling on earth in 
beastly impurity, or gathering, and hoarding 
its gold and silver dust, or covering its in 
w ard impurity by an outward cloak of rdi 
gion ; all of which this light makes manifest, 
as well as humbles those who comprehend it ; 
and the humble are both taught, and exalted 
of God, and enabled to deny their own will* 
and do his will, even as Adam did before his 
fall. 

For this very purpose came the second 
Adam into the world, to restore by his obe- 
dience, what the first Adam lost by his dis- 
obedience ; namely, to restore fallen man to 
the wisdom, the knowledge, the power, the 



356 

life, the lore, the image of God j to save his 
people from (not in) their sins. 

But no man can enter the kingdom of hea- 
ven, till he turns his back on all earthly 
toys ^ for this pearl is of such infinite value, 
that all earthly vanity must be relinquished 
for its sake. We must, with the consent of 
our own wills, turn from the false suggestions 
of the evil spirit, before the good spirit will 
enter the temple of our hearts; then, and not 
till then, will we have a different view of things, 
tempo^aj, and spiritual ; then will we have a 
right apprehension of God, and understand- 
ing of ourselves ; then will we see the vanity 
of the world, and live above it, and the subtle 
snares of Satan, and have dominion over him 
j d all his emissaries. 

Then are we in friendship with God, and 
hold sweet converse with him, even as Adam 
did before his fall ; then will we do his will 
on earth, as angels do in heaven. 

Ye who have measureably come to this 
light, disobey not, I beseccli you, its dictates ; 
if you do, it most assuredly will be turned 
to darkness, and great will that darkness 
be. And to you to whom this testimony 
is not hid, who are enabled to see the force of 
these truths, and are disposed to turn to the 
time inward teacher, who will at once (if you 
shut not your eyes against the truth,) shew you 



357 

the greatness of your transgressions, m» 
well as the punishment due to them : let this 
valuable sight humble you in the dust, and 
cause you to abhor yourselves, and repent 
in dust, and ashes : but look not to your 
sin and depravity alone, for this would 
cause you to sink into desperation. But the 
light by which these were manifested, 
by looking to it, you will be enabled to see 
above tliem, and find refuge in the Saviour's 
Mood, and ark of his covenant, which makes 
a full atonement for all repented crimes. 

There can be no justification, no salvation, 
out of Christ, out of his light. He who be- 
lieves in his blessed covenant, and walks in 
his light, is a child of the light, and walks 
not in darkness, but loves the Lord, with all 
his heart, and keeps his sayings with a 
grateful and willing mind. The first step 
to this glorious state of grace and peace, is 
repentance ; we must see our danger and 
our follies, committed in the broad way that 
leadeth to destruction, and sincerely repent 
of the same, before we can tafce otic step in 
this narrow way of self-denial, ami the cross, 
in the patience. John the Baptist, and Christ 
and his apostles, all preached repentance as 
a preliminary to the kingdom of Heaven on 
earth ; the fruit of which is holiness, and the 
fljad everlasting life. For know ye not your 



358 

own-selves, that a holy God will havQ his 
children holy, and they who are unholy, are 
therefore not his children. He is righteous, 
and they must be so ; he is just, hence they 
must be just ; he is merciful, and they must 
he so ; he pities and blesses his enemies, in 
their day of probation, and his children also 
pray for, and forgive their enemies. He is 
light, and they walk in his light; he is love, 
and they live in his love ; he is a Spirit, and 
thqy worship him in Spirit and in truth ; 
those who do not thus walk, thus live, and 
thus love, are not his children. 

Therefore, let nothing suffice you, but a 
complete victory over sin, and without you 
do violence to the flesh, this victory, you can 
never obtain. 

There are two fatal rocks, on which many 
suffer shipwreck, when they first commence 
a religious life ; and which I here warn you 
to beware of, I mean, antimonianism, and 
phariseeism, or faith without works, and works 
without faith, or if you please, licentiousness, 
and hypocrisy : bow many are shipwreck- 
ed on these rocks, particularly the latter, in 
this age of darkness and delusion. 

All our own righteousness by the law, is 
as filthy rags, and renders us more obnoxious 
to heaven, than publicans, and harlots. But 
being cloathed in the righteousness of Christ, 



359 

imputed and also imported, loved and also 
lived in, and received by grace through faith, 
we are peculiarly pleasing in the sight of 
heaven. Though we at the same time, feel 
less than nothing in ourselves, while Christ 
is all in all ; and our chief delight, happiness, 
and heaven, is to please him, and promote 
his glory, from a principle of pure love, and 
gratitude. 

Wherefore, to you who read these rc- 
jnarks, who have not entered this kingdom of 
heaven on earth, and whose day of grace is 
not passed, whether professor or profane, 
This is the word of the Lord to you all, 
" What will it profit you, Oh infatuated peo- 
ple, even if you should gain the whole world, 
and lose your own souls ; and wherefore, 
have many of you been so much afflicted and 
so unfortunate, is it not that ye may be in- 
duced to wean your affections from earthly 
vanity, and place them upon the heavenly, 
the sovereign beauty, who is delicate in love, 
and cannot endure a divided heart.*" Hence 

* The judicious reader, will recognize some repetition 
in sentiment, and many in praseolog"v, in these admoni- 
tions, he will also see, that this is contrary to the rules cf 
composition ; these things, I also am sensible of, but this 
sensibility would not preclude me from repeating again, and 
again, and again, in the ears of clerical impostors, and 
their deluded followers, the dreadful destruction thev are 
bringing upon themselves, in a voice a-s loud as thunder, 



860 

look to the light,, and listen to the still small 
^oice of the holy Spirit within, which has for 
a long time been calling you, and now once 
more, calls you to your own happiness, to 
holiness, to sanctity, and to heaven. 

The holy Ghost will teaeh, as man never 
taught, gratis: it will make manifest, that 
he who loves the world, loves not God,. and 
that he who is more solicitous to gain his fa- 
vours, than to please him, is an abomination 
to him* Wherefore, Reader! view this 
©andid testimony, (notwithstanding its lite- 
rary imperfections,) with solemn seriousness, 
as it may be your last call. For you may 
rest assured,, though I should (Judas like) 
draw back to perdition to-morrow, THIS IS 
THE WORD OF THE LORD TO YOU 
TO-DAY ! 

was it in my power so to do. And I v should not wonder, if 
the Lord would command some of his servants, to go from 
town to town, and from city to city, and to cry with a loud 
and trembling voice, woe, woe, woe, to the host of hypocrit- 
ical doctors of divinity, and their deluded votaries in the 
free and enlightened American Republic. The same as 
the Jewish countryman went about the wall and temple of 
Jerusalem, crying in a loud and lamentable voice ; " woeJ 
woe, woe, to the city and temple of Jerusalem :" and con-< 
tinued thus to cry till Jerusalem was destroyed by the Ro- 
man army, •* • rj *» /• 



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